Terry Eagleton is a novelist, essayist, activist and Professor of Literary and Cultural Theory at the University of Manchester. He began his distinguished academic career with an interest in 19th and 20th century literature, but is best known as one of the leading voices in cultural theory of our time. Prolific and eclectic, Eagleton's thought ranges from his early explorations of the relationship between politics and theology, to the Marxist tradition in critical theory, to Irish literature and social history. He also remains an outspoken critic of what he sees as the blind spots of literary and cultural scholarship today, raising important issues concerning politics, justice and equality.    

He is author of numerous scholarly and creative works, including Literary Theory: An Introduction (1983), The Illusions of the Postmodern (1996), The Idea of Culture (2000), and After Theory (2003). He is also a regular contributor to The Guardian, The New Statesman and Red Pepper.

His most recent book, Holy Terror (Oxford University Press 2005) explores the idea of terror as it extends from the events of September 11, 2001 to the French Revolution and beyond to the rites and rituals of the ancient world.