Such Stuff as Dreams: The Psychology of Fiction explores how fiction works in the brains and imagination of both readers and writers. * Demonstrates how reading fiction can contribute to a greater understanding of, and the ability to change, ourselves * Informed by the latest psychological research which focuses on, for example, how identification with fictional characters occurs, and how literature can improve social abilities * Explores traditional aspects of fiction, including character, plot, setting, and theme, as well as a number of classic techniques, such as metaphor, metonymy, defamiliarization, and cues * Includes extensive end-notes, which ground the work in psychological studies * Features excerpts from fiction which are discussed throughout the text, including works by William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Kate Chopin, Anton Chekhov, James Baldwin, and others