Ideology has never before been so much in evidence as a fact, and so little understood as a concept, as it is today. In this now classic work, originally written for both students and for those already familiar with the debates around the concept, the celebrated literary theorist Terry Eagleton unravels its many definitions, exploring its tortuous history from the Enlightenment to the present.

A limpid account of the thought of key Marxist thinkers, as well as that of philosophers from Schopenhauer and Nietzsche to Freud and the post-structuralists, and a political reformulation of a vital set of ideas, Ideology: An Introduction is an essential text by one of our most important contemporary critics.

Witty, lucid, and powered by that stinging, militant, ironising intelligence which distinguishes Eagleton's work. * Guardian *
Eagleton is a combative, fiercely articulate and witty Marxist literary critic. * The Nation *
An impressive, daunting work ... a considerable accomplishment. * San Francisco Review of Books *
Excellent and engaging ... Eagleton is informative, witty and wise. * Times Higher Education Supplement *

TERRY EAGLETON is Distinguished Visiting Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University and the author of more than fifty books in the fields of literary theory, postmodernism, politics, ideology, and religion.