Raymond Williams is widely acknowledged to be one of the most original and influential thinkers of the post-war era. He wrote extensively across a wide range of subjects: from drama and the novel to politics, popular culture and mass communications. He was also a major novelist, well-known for books such as Border Country and Second Generation.

This volume of new and original essays, edited and introduced by Terry Eagleton, provides a critical appreciation of Raymond Williams' writings by those best acquainted with his work. Among the contributions are essays on Williams's work as a literary critic, as a student of popular culture, as a novelist and as an analyst of contemporary politics and society.

Terry Eagleton is Professor of Cultural Theory and John Rylands Fellow at the University of Manchester. His works include The Ideology of the Aesthetic Literacy Theory: An Introduction, Walter Benjamin and Marxism and Literacy Criticism