The Seventeenth - Century Literature Handbook [Paperback]

Never a dull read, Marshall Grossmans elegant volume bristles with sharp ideas to inform, stimulate and challenge his audience.

Thomas Corns, Bangor University

The seventeenth century was a dramatic period in British history, witnessing two revolutions, huge constitutional change, the widening of the political and literary classes, and the gradual acceptance of women as authors. This easy-to-use Handbook offers readers a succinct overview of this complex period, guiding them through the principal literary works, figures and innovations of the time. Focusing on studying texts in context, Marshall Grossman explores the ways in which major works, including Hamlet, Paradise Lost and The Pilgrims Progress, both reflected and helped to shape the history of the time, while concise sections on topics such as the Gunpowder Plot and the Pamphlet Wars allow the reader to engage more fully with the central themes and preoccupations of the period. Concluding with a series of brief biographical profiles describing the life and works of the centurys most significant and influential writers, The Seventeenth-Century Literature Handbook is essential reading for anyone interested in British Literature across the civil war and restoration periods.

Preface xi

Chronology xv

Part 1 Texts and Contexts: An Overview 1

Reading the Historical Landscape 3

Renaissance and/or Reformation: From Elizabeth to James 5

New Science Leaves All in Doubt 14

Business and Trade 34

Breaking the State 59

The Restoration 86

The Short Reign of James II and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 97

The Production of Culture in the SeventelÃ