The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature (Oxford Illustrated Histories) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0192827286 ISBN 13: 9780192827289

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1990

Synopsis

Britain possesses a literary heritage virtually unrivaled in the Western world. This lavishly illustrated volume explores the richness, diversity, and continuity of that tradition. Under the general editorship of Pat Rogers, some of Britain's foremost literary scholars trace the history of English literature from its first stirrings in Anglo-Saxon poetry to the present day.
The contributors aim to convey to the reader the pleasure and exhilaration of literature, rather than to provide a bare outline of schools and periods of writing. At the heart of the volume towers the figure of Shakespeare, who has a special chapter devoted entirely to himself. The volume also offer detailed treatments of other major writers such as Chaucer, Milton, Donne, Wordsworth, Dickens, Eliot, and Auden, and up-to-date discussions of living authors such as Muriel Spark and Seamus Heaney. More than a mere chronology, this versatile work provides a basic core of information and invaluable supplementary material, including suggestions for further reading, maps, a chronological table of dates, and a detailed index with birth and death dates of individuals listed. It also moves beyond these facts and events to characterize the broad sweep of ideas and the main concerns of British writers over the past thirteen centuries.
The illustrations chosen--thirty-five in color and over two hundred in black and white--bring to life the content and concerns of the text. They range in subject from manuscripts and book illustrations to works of art and architecture, portraits, social scenes, landscapes, and caricatures, illuminating not only the literature but also the ideas, preoccupations, and outlooks that fostered it. Rather than simply decorating the text, the illustrations complement and enlarge it.
All experts in their chosen areas, the contributors bring to this volume a deep understanding and great enthusiasm and zest for their subject. Collectively, they have woven together the complex strands of English literature into a highly readable narrative.

About this title

About the Author

About the Editor:
Pat Rogers is DeBartolo Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of South Florida. He is the author of numerous books, including Grub Street, and editor of the Poems of Jonathan Swift.

Review

'The book is appealing in every way, from its lively writing to its wonderfully varied illustrations. It is the best such book I have found.'
Professor Helen Vendler, Harvard University

'This is a knowledgeably illustrated, fluently related, and frequently illuminating history.'
Times Educational Supplement

'It's delightful to find contributors who love and enjoy literature ... it shows that English literature matters, and is being kept up.'
Laurence Lerner, Spectator

'The book is appealing in every way, from its livelyu writing to its wonderfully varied illustrations. It is the best such book I have found.'
Professor Helen Vendler, Harvard University

'this distinguished book ... a valuable contribution to general literary history ... The book itself must be the justification of literary history, with its blend of fact, biography, description of literary works, critical assessments, and summaries.'
Birmingham Post

'there are good and judicious essays in this collection.'
Peter Ackroyd, The Times

'Nine illuminating chapters by different academic hands survey, magisterially, the panorama from Old English through Chaucer and Shakespeare ... and Milton down to the 'anger and fear' which characterises post-war letters.'
London Evening Standard

'[a] very handsome and well-produced volume.'
David Holloway, Daily Telegraph

'[a] sumptuous book ... Philippa Lewis, the picture researcher, and Susan Le Roux and her aides deserve the warmest praise for their outstanding contribution to a book which gives excellent value in every department.'
Church Times

'This lovely volume ... put in your thumb and you can pull out plums ... from almost every page.'
Michael Foot, Hampstead and Highgate Express

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0192827286
• ISBN 13: 9780192827289
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 544
• Editor: Rogers Pat