The Edinburgh Companion to the Essay
By (Author) Mario Aquilina
Edited by Nicole B. Wallack
Edited by Bob Cowser Jnr.
Edinburgh University Press
Edinburgh University Press
10th March 2026
United Kingdom
Non Fiction
Literary reference works
Paperback
504
Width 172mm, Height 244mm
The Edinburgh Companion to the Essay distinguishes itself by the wide range and scope of its themes, voices and approaches. Thirty-five leading essayists, literary critics and writing instructors explore the essay from multiple perspectives, including its theories, forms and histories as well as its cultural, political and pedagogical contexts. In particular, the volume extends the theory of the essay by addressing topics such as the construction of an essayistic self and the political dimensions of essaying. It further explores the relationship between the essay and other forms, such as philosophical writing, the column, science writing, the novel, the lyric and the advert as well as the essay in digital spaces.