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This new edition of an established text provides a succinct and up-to-date historical overview of the story of English literature. Focusing on how writing both reflects and challenges the periods in which it is produced, John Peck and Martin Coyle combine close readings of key texts with recent critical thinking on the interaction of literary works and culture. Providing a lively introductory guide to English literature from Beowulf to the present day, the authors write in their characteristically lucid and accessible style. A true masterpiece of clarity and compression, this is essential reading for undergraduate students coming across the vast areas of English literature for the first time and looking for a way of making critical sense of the texts being studied. In addition, the concise nature and narrative structure of this book makes it excellent reading for general readers. New to this Edition: - Revised chapter on twentieth century literature - Complete new chapter on twenty-first century literature - Updated Chronology and Further Reading section

First published in 1902, this volume contains a detailed history of English literature beginning in the Anglo-Saxon Period and ending with contemporary literature. “A History of English Literature” is highly recommended for all students of literature, and it would make for a worthy addition to any collection. Contents include: “The Anglo-Saxon Period”, “The Norman-French Period”, “The Age of Chaucer”, “The Renaissance: Non-Dramatic Literature to the Death of Spenser”, “The Renaissance: Shakespeare”, ‘The Seventeenth Century: Shakespeare’s Contemporaries and Successors in the Drama”, “The Seventeenth Century: Non-dramatic Literature before the Restoration”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in a modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.

The paperback edition, in four volumes, of this standard work will make it readily available to students.The scope of the work makes it valuable as a work of reference, connecting one period with another and placing each author clearly in the setting of his time.Reviewing the first edition, The Times Literary Supplement commented: 'in inclusiveness and in judgment it has few rivals of its kind'.This first volume covers The Middle Ages (to 1500) in two sections: The Old English Period (to 1100) by Kemp Malone (John Hopkins University), and The Middle English Per.

The life and times of the famous English poet, author, and civil servant Geoffrey Chaucer, regarded widely as the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry", is the subject of this book. Exploring the mystery of Chaucer's background, author and literary critic, Grace E. Hadow also looks at the works of Chaucer pointing out that Chaucer's diversity of works include prose poetry, ballades, as well as scientific and philosophical writings. Some of his famous works critiqued include: 'The Book of the Duchess', 'The House of Fame', 'The Legend of Good Women', 'Troilus and Criseyde', and, of course, his most famous work, 'The Canterbury Tales'.

This famous work was the result of the wartime collaboration of two Scottish scholars. Their tracing of the course of English poetry has been described by The Times Literary Supplement as a 'volume of masterly compression'. They deliberately spend most time on the greatest poets, believing that, significant as traditions and influences are, the great poet himself affects the spirit of his age and moulds the tradition he has inherited. At the same time, enough attention is paid to minor poets to make the book historically complete, and to fill in the most important links in the chain of poetic development. Thus Gower is here, as well as Chaucer; Patmore, as well as Browning. Both in scope and in detail A Critical History of English Poetry is a distinguished and valuable work.