A Brief History of English Literature provides a lively introductory guide to English literature from Beowulf to the present day. The authors write in their characteristically lucid style which enables the reader to engage fully with the narrative and easily understand the texts in relation to the social, political and cultural contexts in which they were written. A masterpiece of clarity and compression, this book is a must have for anyone interested in the history of literature from the British Isles.
'This text focuses on writers who are English, rather than who write in English, and deliberately concentrates on those most likely to be studied within the English education system. Its aim is to explore texts' interaction with their historical context; accordingly, it gives historical details as well as summaries and interpretations of literary texts. The style is concise, with concerns being introduced in a few paragraphs or even sentences...I found this an interesting and useful read. It introduces complex ideas in a style that will be easily understood by English teachers and will be accessible to some students at Advanced level and many in Higher Education. I recommend it for English departments and school/college libraries.' - Helen Barker, National Association for the Teaching of English
'A well-structured, uncluttered and balanced account of English literary history.' - J.P. Van der Motten, Gent Universiteit, Belgium
'Chatty and engaging...will do its best work at sixth-form and first-year undergraduate level.' - The Times Higher Education Supplement
Preface
Old English Literature
Middle English Literature
Sixteenth-Century Poetry and Prose
Shakespeare
Renaissance and Restoration Drama
Seventeenth-Century Poetry and Prose
The Eighteenth Century
The Novel: The First Hundred Years
The Romantic Period
Victorian Literature 1837-1857
Victorian Literature 1857-1876
Victorian Literature 1874-1901
The Twentieth Century: The Early Years
The Twentieth Century: Between the Wars
The Twentieth Century: The Second World War to the End of the Millennium
Postscript
Chronology
Further Reading
Index
JOHN PECK and MARTIN COYLE are Senior Lecturers in English at Cardiff University. They are the general editors of the New Casebooks series and of the Critical Issues series, both published by Palgrave.