Rebels and Tyrants

Rebels and Tyrants is a unique literary collection that provides an introduction to key moments in cultural history, including the Renaissance, Romanticism, and Realism. These concepts are addressed by leading authors in major literary traditions such as William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. The included works portray unforgettable fictional rebels and tyrants like Richard III, Ivanhoe, and Robin Hood―characters that have profoundly influenced popular culture and world literature. The texts are organized around the subversive and creative ways in which the authors themselves were also rebels―rebels who challenged literary conventions and shaped daring new perspectives on what literature should be about.

Nicholas Rzhevsky is Professor and Chair of the Department of European Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Stony Brook University, SUNY. His B.A. is from Rutgers University (with Highest Honors) and his doctorate from Princeton University, where he was a Title VI Fellow. His honors include four Fulbright-Hays fellowships, as well as grants from the U.S. Department of Education, NEH, and IREX.