In this book, Mary Talbot shows how fiction works in the constitution and reproduction of social life. She does not reduce fiction to a functional support for ideology, however, but considers that the greatest interest in fiction is as a source of pleasure. She discusses both 'high' and 'low' fiction, combining discussion of social context with language analysis.

Taking a view of fiction as a product of social practices, the book examines not only the texts themselves but also what people do with them and how they are valued. Fictions at work will be of interest to students on a variety of courses including linguistics, English, women's studies, cultural studies, and media and communication studies.