By the time Ian Watt published The Rise of the Novel. in 1957, it was clear that many women novelists before Jane Austen had been overlooked in critical studies of literature and that some of them had been completely forgotten by the reading public. In this book, Brian Corman explores the question of how and why this came about. Corman provides a systematic survey of the reputations of early women novelists as canons of the novel developed over a period of roughly two hundred year...

The ten plays in this new collection show both the continuity and the changes in comedy over the course of the Restoration and eighteenth century. Each play includes its original prologue and epilogue, as well as an historical introduction and full annotation. The editor’s Introduction provides a rich historical and literary context for the plays’ composition and production. A glossary of frequently used words likely to be unfamiliar to general readers is also included.

The cultural highlights of the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) have long been overlooked. However, recent scholarship, including the present volume, is demonstrating that Anne has been seriously underestimated, both as a person, and as a monarch, and that there was much cultural activity of note in what might be called an interim period, coming after the deaths of Dryden and Purcell but before the blossoming of Pope and Handel, after the glories of Baroque architecture but before the trium...

Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe is a gripping tale of survival, sin, and redemption in 17th-century England. Born in Newgate Prison, Moll narrates her tumultuous life as she strives for security and wealth in a harsh, unforgiving society. Through a series of marriages, thefts, and betrayals, Moll navigates poverty and prosperity, driven by desperation and ambition. Her journey takes her from London to Virginia and back, entangled in moral ambiguity and societal critique. Despite her crimes, ...

There are an hundred faults in this Thing, and an hundred things might be said to prove them beauties. But it is needless. A book may be amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single absurdity. The hero of this piece unites in himself the three greatest characters upon earth; he is a priest, an husbandman, and the father of a family. He is drawn as ready to teach, and ready to obey, as simple in affluence, and majestic in adversity. In this age of o...

Preeminent Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro, author of Shakespeare in a Divided America**, shows how the tumultuous events in 1606 influenced three of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies written that year—King Lear, Macbeth,** and Antony and Cleopatra. **“**The Year of Lear is irresistible—a banquet of wisdom” (

This comprehensive eBook presents the complete fictional works of Henry Fielding, with numerous illustrations, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Fielding's life and works* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts* ALL the novels, with individual contents tables* Images of how the books were first printed, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts*...

Regarded by some as the leading novelist of the Eighteenth Century, Samuel Richardson is best known for his epistolary novels, which changed the course of English literature. This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works of Samuel Richardson, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Richardson’s life and wor...

An “extraordinarily brilliant” and “pleasurably naughty” (André Aciman) investigation into the Shakespeare authorship question, exploring how doubting that William Shakespeare wrote his plays became an act of blasphemy…and who the Bard might really be.The theory that Shakespeare may not have written the works that bear his name is the most horrible, unspeakable subject in the history of English literature. Scholars admit that the Bard’s biography is a “black hole,”...

In "Pamela," the protagonist, Pamela, is a young maidservant who resists the advances of her employer, Mr. B, and strives to maintain her virtue. The novel is presented in the form of letters, providing an intimate look into Pamela's thoughts and experiences.The work is considered one of the earliest novels in English literature and is known for its exploration of themes such as class, virtue, and social hierarchy. "Pamela" was highly influential and sparked discussions about the novel as ...

In her famous speech to rouse the English troops staking out Tilbury at the mouth of the Thames during the Spanish Armada's campaign, Queen Elizabeth I is said to have proclaimed, "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king." Whether or not the transcription is accurate, the persistent attribution of this provocative statement to England's most studied and celebrated queen illustrates some of the contradictions and cultural anxieties that dom...

Samuel Richardson was an English author best known for his epistolary novels. Richardson was one of the first writers of epistolary novels and also one of the most famous. This edition of Sir Charles Grandison includes a table of contents.