The Seventeenth-Century Literature Handbook

‘At once intellectually stimulating and genuinely useful, The Seventeenth-Century Literature Handbook is an invaluable resource: a faithful and accessible guide to the period's significant texts and literary approaches. Meticulously edited and thoughtfully organized, the Handbook is suitable for beginning and advanced students alike, offering both an introduction to the study of seventeenth-century English literature and a sophisticated survey of key concepts and contexts.' - Claude J. Summers, William E. Stirton Professor Emeritus, Humanities University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA
‘The review of recent critical theory enables a refreshingly new approach both to criticism and to an exemplary range of seventeenth-century writing . . . By using a range of established and more recent critical approaches this collection provides a valuable challenge to accepted views about canon and genre.' - Dr Peter Happé, Visiting Fellow, Department of English, University of Southampton, UK
"Evans and Sterling, both of Auburn University, have produced not only a guide to British seventeenth-century literature, but also a handy reference to current trends in criticism. The book provides a timeline and an overview of the major historical events, primarily the Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration. This is followed by mini-biographies of some of the important writers along with literary and cultural movements, including the Royal Society, which, as Margaret Cavendish discovered, did not care what women thought. The handbook, however, notes recent work on women writers of the day as well as attitudes toward homosexuality and race. Essays explaining ways to read and analyze a work are excellent as is the explanation of the many ways to interpret one poem according to various literary theories. There is a glossary and solid biography for further research. The chapter on teaching the literature in the classroom is only available on line. The handbook is intended for use by teachers with sections to be used by students. However the articles on theory and analysis could be used in any literature class bewildered by the plethora of viewpoints on literary interpretation." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.