There is a wealth of critical commentary on Umberto Eco in scholarly books and articles; this 2009 collection provides thought-provoking insights into topics that have attracted a great deal of attention in the past without repeating many of the arguments found in earlier publications on Eco. Representing the most active scholars writing on Eco from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, the international panel of authors provides sophisticated engagement with Eco's contributions to a wide range of academic disciplines (semiotics, popular culture, linguistics, aesthetics, philosophy, medieval studies) as well as his literary production of five important novels. From the impact of the detective genre on Eco's literary work to his place as a major medievalist, New Essays on Umberto Eco covers a variety of subjects of interest not only to a wide audience interested in Eco's fiction, but also to the serious student delving into Eco's more esoteric writings.