Brief History of English Literature

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.

• 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

'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