British Literature: A Historical Overview, Vol. A

by Joseph Laurence Black (Editor), L.W. Conolly, Kate Flint

This title and its companion volume provide an overview of British literature in its social and historical context from the Anglo-Saxon period through to the twenty-first century. They trace literary developments an all genres, and touch as well on key developments in the history of the language and the history of print culture. They also provide essential historical background for those unfamiliar with the unfolding of British political, social, economic, and cultural history during each of the six periods into which the study of British literature is commonly divided (The Medieval Period, The Renaissance and Early Seventeenth Century, The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, The Age of Romanticism, The Victorian Era, The Twentieth Century and Beyond). Included are a wide variety of illustrations, including 24 pages of color plates in each volume.

The material for British Literature: A Historical Overview has been drawn from the general introductions to the six volumes of the acclaimed Broadview Anthology of British Literature.

Genres: Poetry, School, Textbooks, Anthologies, Reference, Medieval, Classics

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2006

Reviews

[Senor]

I am this books bitch. It doesn't belong to me, but I belong to it.

[RKanimalkingdom]

NOTE: I HAVE NOT READ THE ENTIRE BOOK, ONLY SELECTED PASSAGES FROM THIS BOOK BUT SINCE GOODREADS WON'T LET ME ADD THEM MANUALLY, I HAVE TO PUT THIS BOOK AS READ

PASSAGES READ FROM THIS BOOK:
- Corpus Christi Plays
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Quem Queritus
- Mary Magdalene
- Mankind (2x)

[Emily]

I had to read this book as a part of my English uni topic 'Epochs of English'. I enjoyed learning about the history and how it linked to literature - in particular, I enjoyed the Medieval chapter.

[cass]

i think i would’ve enjoyed this more if i didn’t have to read it in like 3 days 🥲

[Alisha]

This was one of my textbooks for the Fall 2012 semester. In reading this book, I was learning about the history and the works of the pieces of literature during this time period. Some pieces that we read are:

- Beowulf
- The Canterbury Tales
- Alfred the Great
- Wulfstan
- Julian of Norwich
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- and the Exeter Book Riddles

I have learned a lot during the reading of this book, and I hope to learn more in Volume 2. If you are wanted to learn about the literature of this time period, this is the book for you.

[Shreya]

Nice books

[Jules DiGregorio]

Enjoyed a surprising amount

[Alyssa Young]

Honestly for a textbook this was really interesting and I actually did the readings. I read about 70% of the entire book which is enough for me to shelf this

[Helaina]

Beowulf, Dream of the Rood, Pastoral Care, The Kings of Britain

[Chloe]

So tea

[Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms]

Very easy to read, clear language, and of course - a great topic!

It has the Canterbury Tales, with an introduction to Chaucer, The Dream of the Rood, Bede, Gildas, Beowulf and others. I had a lot of fun (and a lot of work too!) reading this.

[Charles]

There are some interesting and less interesting works in this anthology.

However, my favourite is the poem "Sumer is icumen in": the trick is that you have to read it out loud, as loud and fast as possible. Then it becomes a weirdly brilliant fusion of voice and word.

[Patrick]

Textbook, Anthology.

[Priya]

Anthologies make me happy.

[Jenna]

*Read for class*