This compact anthology - the second volume in Margaret L. King’s masterful introduction to the Western literary tradition - offers, in whole or in part, eighty key literary works of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.

The texts provided here represent an unusually broad array of languages and traditions, ranging across a variety of genres such as verse, drama, philosophy, short- and long-form fiction, and non-fiction (including autobiography, speech, journalism, and essay).

This second volume shares with the first a focus on works by women; numerous texts by Latin American writers are included here as well. King’s clear, engaging introductions and notes support an informed reading of the texts while extending students’ knowledge of particular authors and problems of interest. The Western Literary Tradition’s modest length and cost allow for the use of full-length works-many of which are available in Hackett Publishing’s own well-regarded and inexpensive translations and editions-alongside the anthology without adding undue cost to a student’s total textbook fees.