Ignatius Critical Editions (ICE) Study Guides are constructed to aid the reader of ICE classics to achieve a level of critical and literary appreciation befitting the works themselves. They give introductions and summaries, followed up with in-depth considerations of key critical moments and themes, plus lists of "points to ponder" while reading. Finally, they include questions to test the students' knowledge of the text and ability to go from that knowledge to wider or higher conclusions about the works and their relation to reality. Ideally suited for students themselves and as a guide for teachers, the ICEStudy Guides serve as a complement to the treasures of critical appreciation already included in ICE titles.

Joseph Pearce is the author of numerous literary works including Literary Converts, The Quest for Shakespeare and Shakespeare on Love, and the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions series. His other books include literary biographies of Oscar Wilde, J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.