3rd Edition
The Routledge History of Literature in English Britain and Ireland
The Routledge History of Literature in English covers the main developments in the history of British and Irish literature, with accompanying language notes which explore the interrelationships between language and literature at each stage. With a span from AD 600 to the present day, it emphasises the growth of literary writing, its traditions, conventions and changing characteristics, and includes literature from the margins, both geographical and cultural. Extensive quotations from poetry, prose and drama underpin the narrative.
The third edition covers recent developments in literary and cultural theory, and features:
- a new chapter on novels, drama and poetry in the 21st century;
- examples of analysis of key texts drawn from across the history of British and Irish literature, including material from Chaucer, Shakespeare, John Keats and Virginia Woolf;
- an extensive companion website including extra language notes and key text analysis; lists of Booker, Costa and Nobel literature prize winners; and an A-Z of authors and topics.
The Routledge History of Literature in English is an invaluable reference for any student of English literature and language.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH: OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH 600-1485
THE RENAISSANCE: 1485-1660
RESTORATION TO ROMANTICISM: 1660-1789
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: 1789 - 1832
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: 1832-1900
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: 1900-45
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: 1945 TO 2000
THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Biography
Ronald Carter is Research Professor of Modern English Language in the School of English Studies, University of Nottingham, UK and is well-known for his work at the interface of language and literary studies. He has written, co-written and edited over forty books, most recently a second edition of Language and Creativity (Routledge Classics) (2015).
John McRae was formerly Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and is now Teaching Associate at the University of Nottingham, UK. He has been a Visiting Professor and Lecturer in more than seventy countries. His publications include Literature with a Small ‘L’ (1991/1997), The Language of Poetry (Routledge, 1998) and the only critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others (1986-2000).
"Brought fully up-to-date with a chapter on twenty-first developments, and featuring a number of useful and exciting extras such as an extensive companion website, this third edition of the widely acclaimed Routledge History of Literature in English fully confirms its reputation of solid yet accessible scholarship, and as the indispensable first-hand reference for any serious student of literature in English."
Theo D’haen, University of Leuven, Belgium"Immensely accessible, comprehensive and reader-friendly, the 3rd edition of The Routledge History of Literature in English provides interested readers with a thorough exploration of British and Irish literature. With a new added chapter chronicling writings from the twenty-first century, this ideal volume is—to date—unique, unrivalled."
Suriyan Panlay, Thammasat University, Thailand"The third edition of this extensive and clearly written volume will be welcome to readers keen to historicize the development of English from Caedmon’s Hymn to the writing of Kazuo Ishiguro. By assessing the reach of English both globally and within the shifting landscape of the British Isles, the authors address questions of dialect, regionalism and nationhood alongside those of genre, form, lexicon and aesthetics. The focus on social and political context in conversation with close readings of specific texts makes this a helpful introduction to the writing and reading of English today."
Emma Mason, University of Warwick, UK
