The book discuses definitions of literature, the distinction between oral and written literature and the identity of literary works. The author offers a wide-ranging discussion of the nature of fiction, in which both irony and non-literary fictions are analysed. An examination of our emotional involvement with fictional characters and events is followed by a discussion of the concept of imagination as an essential factor in our apprehension of literary works. Various theories of metaphor are then considered, and postmodernist theories of authorship discussed. Issues about truth and morality in literature are also raised. Finally, the book asks whether literary appraisals are objective or subjective and proposes a qualified subjective view. The book presupposes no philosophical knowledge in the reader, is free of jargon and sets out problems and solutions in a clear and accessible way. At the same time, it offers fresh approaches to traditional problems and raises new issues in the philosophy of literature.