John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most important works of English literature. Translated into more than 200 languages, it once rivalled the Bible in popularity in the English-speaking world. In A Turbulent, Seditious and Factious People, Christopher Hill reassesses the well-known author to recover Bunyan's significance as a preacher-a man whose nonconformist religion led him into conflict with the Quakers and resulted in long years of imprisonment. It was while confined that he wrote his most famous works. This classic biography by one of the leading historians of the seventeenth century offers an extraordinary insight into one of Britain's most influential writers.

Framed by an understanding that the very concept of what defines the human is often influenced by Renaissance and early modern texts, this book establishes the beginning of the literary development of the satanic form into a humanized form in the seventeenth century. This development is centered on characters and poetry of four seventeenth-century writers: the Satan character in John Milton's Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, the Tempter in John Bunyan's Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Diabolus in Bunyan's The Holy War, the poetry of John Wilmot, earl of Rochester, and Dorimant in George Etherege's Man of Mode. The initial understanding of this development is through a sequential reading of Milton and Bunyan which examines the Satan character as an archetype-in-the-making, building upon each to work so that the character metamorphoses from a groveling serpent and fallen archangel to a humanized form embodying the human impulses necessary to commit evil. Rosenfeld then argues that this development continues in Restoration literature, showing that both Rochester and Etherege build upon their literary predecessors to develop the satanic figure towards greater humanity. Ultimately she demonstrates that these writers, taken collectively, have imbued Satan with the characteristics that define the human. This book includes as an epilogue a discussion of Samson in Milton's Samson Agonistes as a later seventeenth-century avatar of the humanized satanic form, providing an example for understanding a stock literary character in the light of early modern texts.

This edited volume is concerned with the relationship between three key concepts – identity, belonging and human rights – and explores them both by engaging in theoretical analysis and through more practical contributions.

Eleven obituaries of recently deceased Fellows of the British Academy: Isaiah Berlin; Christopher Hill; Rodney Hilton; Keith Hopkins; Peter Laslett; Geoffrey Marshall; John Roskell; Isaac Schapera; Ben Segal; John Cyril Smith and Richard Wollheim.

Baptists worldwide recently celebrated 400 years of history and witness. This volume is a collection of papers presented at the "Beyond 400" conference held in Perth, Western Australia, as part of these celebrations. Contributors have written from a broad range of perspectives reflecting biblically and theologically on the thinking and practice of Baptists in the past and present. These reflections form a basis for exploring how Baptists can function more effectively in our contemporary world situation and imagine themselves in the future. Chapters range from providing historical perspectives to biblical and theological reflections on issues that have been critical to Baptist belief and ministry. They examine the core values that, historically, have distinguished Baptists within the broader context of the church and explore how these values might both underpin and play out in Baptist churches today. Contributions reflect a firm belief among both the presenters and attendees at the "Beyond 400" conference that Baptists not only have a future but also offer a necessary voice to our world. This voice is firmly based on the issues that first precipitated the Baptist movement some 400 years ago, and the continuing relevance of these issues as they are reimagined for our contemporary situation.

A Nation of Change and Novelty (1990) ranges broadly over the political and literary terrain of the seventeenth century, examining the importance of the English Revolution as a decisive event in English and European history. It emphasises the historical significance of the English Revolution, exploring not only its causes but also its long term consequences, basing both in a broad social context and viewing it as a necessary condition of England’s having nurtured the first Industrial Revolution.

The world sees Britain through the antics of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the stiff-lipped, painfully class-conscious societies depicted in Gosford Parkand Remains of the Day, and the scathing diatribes of American Idol’s Simon Cowell. The images being projected from the island nation of England are so disparate these days that it’s hard to know what to think of the British. Chris Rojek explores this dilemma, looking at the myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes of the British. Drawing upon a wide range of sources in pop culture, politics, art, and history, Rojek examines how Britons are viewed both at home and abroad. From Austin Powers to King Arthur and Albion, and from Big Brother to international opinion polls, Rojek investigates what it means to be British in a globalized, multicultural world. Brit-Myth deftly avoids extreme nationalism or abstract scholarship, offering a new conception of Britishness that transcends race and emphasizes the integral role of individualism and nonconformity in British identity. Full of thought-provoking insights and engaging anecdotes, Brit-Myth will entertain both Anglophiles and those who want to learn more about the land under the Union Jack.

As the last leader of the Chartist movement, Ernest Charles Jones (1819-69) is a significant historical figure, but he is just as well-known for his political verse. His prison-composed epic The New World lays claim to being the first poetic exploration of Marxist historical materialism, and his caustic short lyric ‘The Song of the Low’ appears in most modern anthologies of Victorian poetry. Despite the prominence of Jones’s verse in Labour history circles, and several major inclusions in critical discussions of working-class Victorian literature, this volume represents the first full-length study of his poetry. Through close analysis and careful contextualization, this work traces Jones’s poetic development from his early German and British Romantic influences through his radicalization, imprisonment, and years of leadership. The poetry of this complex and controversial figure is here fully mapped for the first time.

This is the history of two business dynasties, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, whose partnership established one of the leading merchant banks of the twentieth century. Jehanne Wake tells the fascinating story of the building of a great business empire and reveals the personalities who played a part in the bank's often dramatic past.

This volume of original essays is designed to be of interest to students not only of Bunyan, but of the history, religion and literature of the seventeenth century