A Short History of English Literature

This survey follows English writing from the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf through medieval verse and drama, the Renaissance, the eighteenth century, the Romantics, the Victorians, and the early twentieth century, ending around the 1930s. Phelps organises the account by broad themes and groupings of writers rather than as an examination handbook. He treats poets, playwrights, and novelists in their historical settings, showing how forms and subjects change from one period to the next. The book is a consecutive narrative for the general reader: a compact map of major authors and movements, not a set of isolated plot summaries.

Bound in blue cloth blocked with a design in gold. Pale blue endleaves. Blue-grey and blue slipcase.