The 35 original essays in A Companion to Narrative Theory constitute the best available introduction to this vital and contested field of humanistic inquiry. This book: comprises 35 original essays written by leading figures in the field * Includes contributions from pioneers in the field such as Wayne C. Booth, Seymour Chatman, J. Hillis Miller and Gerald Prince; represents all the major critical approaches to narrative and investigates and debates the relations between them; considers narratives in different disciplines, such as law and medicine; and, features analysis of a variety of media, including film, music, and painting. It is designed to be of interest to specialists, yet accessible to readers with little prior knowledge of the field.