The Routledge History of Literature in English: Britain and Ireland

by Ronald Carter, John McRae, Malcolm Bradbury (Foreword)

This is a completely updated and expanded second edition of the wide-ranging and accessible Routledge History of Literature in English . It covers the main developments in the history of British and Irish literature and has extensive accompanying language notes which explore the interrelationships between language and literature. 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 second edition covers recent developments in literary and cultural theory and has the following
* additional or extended material on post-colonial writers, and the literature of the 1990s
* an expanded Timeline with Booker, Whitbread, and Nobel prize winners
* additions to the well-received language notes which include 'Shakespeare's language', 'Reading the language of theatre and drama', 'New modes of modern writing' and 'International and rotten Englishes'
* An expanded Timeline with Booker, Whitbread, and Nobel prize winners.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Academic, Reference, Literary Criticism, Literature, Linguistics

570 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Pooh Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Routledge History of Literature in English by Ronald Carter and John McRae.
This is my third book on English literature after Edward Albert and David Daiches works. And All three are great reads for Every Literature Students.
Coming to this Edition I think it's really a good one and i would put this on top among three as it is updated and covering Modern developments specifically From Romanticism onwards and giving good brief insights of Modern 20th century writings and 21st century writings. The language notes about poetry or genres are really useful for reference purposes. It is also good for any Literature examination purposes as it is not too dry to read. language of the book is easily comprehensible but sophisticated that's a thing i like about this book.
The book aslo covers the development of Irish and scottish English from the beginning which is also interesting and important to add into knowledge as many major writers or poets are coming from these countries having a background knowledge of Irish and scottish english is also useful.
P.S: I would specifically recommend this for Modern Literature in English of 20th century or 21st century!
Happy Reading!

[Richie Kercenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a godsend in a sense. It's a valuable work if you are exploring literatures written in English by English, Irish, Scottish, American, Polish, and even Japanese, Indian, and Chinese authors.
This book helped me a lot in narrowing down the list of authors I wanted to tackle for my academic career (present and future) It helped introducing new names that I wasn't acquainted with, and guiding me through the works of those I already knew.
If you are a scholar, a student of literature, a teacher, or simply a reader in quest of new horizons and suggestions than this will be a good companion.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

A good book to be used as a reference guide for writing English essays and a dissertation on the bastardisation of the English Language, which is what I used it for.

[Sumedha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVEEEEEDDD IT.
TOO MUCH INFO IN SUCH A SHORT SPAN OF TIME I KNOW I WON'T REMEMBER HALF OF IT BUT DAMN! READING THIS BOOK WAS LIKE GOING ON A JOURNEY THROUGH CENTURIES!
ALTHOUGH THIS WAS AN ACADEMIC READ BUT I ENJOYED READING IT.
I LOVE LITERATURE.

[Jad Wannous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robinson Crusoe makes a Kingdom of the island upon which he is shipwrecked. His relationships, first with Xury, then with his " man, Friday ", lack the kind of respect Behn gave the royal slave in Oroonoko.

Crusoe is a coloniser, who establishes on the island a model of his own society which will continue after the end of the tale. Robinson's belief in God, or in what he himself is doing, is never questioned. To paraphrase Pope: whatever Crusoe does, is right. After Xury leaves, Crusoe encounters
" Friday "_ and has to convert him to Christianity.

[Krishnapriya Kamalakshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent reference book.

[Garima Swami · Rating 5 out of 5]

An all-encompassing package of the British literary history.

[JAI SHIV PANDEY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Marvelous
I read this book thoroughly page by page , I found this book really very very important for competitive examinations like Net, Set, JRF etc.
Thanks alot.

[Jaan Musavwir · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must for qualifying nta net and jrf in English

[Manu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book for people who want to avoid the pedantic language of Edward Albert or miles of David Daiches...but still want a history of English Literature.
Tha language is fluid and ideas unbiased.

[MINHAJUDDIN MAZUMDER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently reading it.

[Shweta Kudrimoti]

I only used it for college studies
Didnt find modernism
:(

[Herb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hm

[Dhrupad Rishav · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a textbook, it is very lucid and detailed (something which not many books manage to do together), and is definitely helpful for students of English Literature.

That said, don't be uncritical of the book's perspectives. So, I know that, since English is the language of a White people, the authors are most likely to be white. BUT, the twentieth century, after colonialism, has seen such a boom in English writing by non-white folk, to a point that more English authors are black or brown or Asian than white (yes, this is true). Which means, the last quarter of the book, which addresses the 20th century, and COMPLETELY ignores the multitude of Black and Asian writers who wrote and write in English, is essential reductionist and amnesiac. I mean, for a language that is as rooted in colonialism as English is, can you really talk about its modern literature without talking about postcolonial literature? To talk about late 20th century literature, and to not mention Black authors like Chinua Achebe or Toni Morrison or James Baldwin even once is an epistemological crime, in my humble opinion. And the argument that the book is about British and Irish authors only doesn't hold up, because it clearly isn't. It spends reams talking about American and Australian literature, not to mention that there HAVE BEEN important writers of colour in the British isles too!

Secondly, the authors have a preference for bourgeois works of idle literature, which comes through in the section on Modernist drama: thus, works of political realist theatre about the visceral experiences of working class youth in the 1950s is seen is inferior literature in contrast to the idle existential theatre of Samuel Beckett where nothing happens and only rich people will enjoy (since only they have the luxury to muse about existence and its meaninglessness, since they are not occupied with a constant fight to survive). I'm not saying Beckett isn't great (I mean, I loved Waiting for Godot), but what's with this hierarchy of art? I can't help but detect an elitist bias. Still, this is more an ideological opposition on my part than a technical flaw.

Lastly, the terms of literary theory (Modernism, post-modernism, humanism, feminism, Marxism, etc.) have not been used very precisely ot academically, although perhaps that is not a huge drawback for a beginner's textbook. The lack of proper jargon is a two edge sword, but is admittedly helpful upon first reading.

All in all, still a great textbook, and general repository of knowledge. I hope they correct their race issues in the following editions, and it might just be perfect.

[a.g.e. montagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best textbook of its kind I have come across (and I do this for a living).
The approach is contemporary throughout, with a concerted focus on minor writers and ample sections dedicated to female as well as regional writers, plus frequent analytical sections on the evolving use of language. There's a considerable (and very valuable) power of synthesis constantly at work, and especially in the chapters on recent and living authors a commitment to the future of literature shines through. Readers will be left with the lingering sense that this is a constantly unfinished business, and that every step along the way was important, and that our future very much depend on it.

p.s.: A note on the Goodreads page count for the book. The printed edition lists 622 pages in textbook (i.e. large) format; but since ebook page numbers usually follow paperback format, I have taken the liberty to adopt the actual, and more plausible, number of 950 pages for this Kindle edition.

[Rhesa]

I bought this book back in 2001, I must confess since then I only manage to read its first 29 pages. This book studies the history of English literature from Old & Middle English [includes there is the story of Beowulf:] to the present.

What I learn so far is that the Christian monks and nuns were the guardians of culture, as they were virtually the only people who could read and write before the 14th century.

I have an impression that this is a valuable collection, well organized and contains wealth of information.I hope I can pick it up again sometime and start reading where I left off.

[Abhisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book especially from a contemporary perspective. It gives you a broad idea about all the ages and also includes writers that were previously emitted from earlier canons and some history books (particularly J. Long). However, the works aren't explained in great detail so if you are preparing for an exam you will surely have to read further on important works separately. It's a great starting point and I personally didn't find the language that tough.

[terka]

I've only read the first 200 pages (because I'm studying for an exam and it's only up to the 1780s).

[Sadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its great for students but not the one I'd recommend if I have to name one book for this topic. It was helpful in my case so I am definitely grateful.

[Darpreet Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about the history of English literature, but the language is somewhat difficult to understand.The emphasis is on close reading.

[Ragini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice overall. Raring to be finalised (?) later when I get time to read the whole book (read only the ones about my paper).

[Diptanjan Sarma Purkayastha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it's good. Not for beginners in this topic I suppose. Interesting presentation, lots of quotes to keep things interesting.