The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of London (Cambridge Companions to Literature) - Softcover

Manley, Lawrence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521722314 ISBN 13: 9780521722315

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011

Synopsis

London has provided the setting and inspiration for a host of literary works in English, from canonical masterpieces to the popular and ephemeral. Drawing upon a variety of methods and materials, the essays in this volume explore the London of Langland and the Peasants' Rebellion, of Shakespeare and the Elizabethan stage, of Pepys and the Restoration coffee house, of Dickens and Victorian wealth and poverty, of Conrad and the Empire, of Woolf and the wartime Blitz, of Naipaul and postcolonial immigration, and of contemporary globalism. Contributions from historians, art historians, theorists and media specialists as well as leading literary scholars exemplify current approaches to genre, gender studies, book history, performance studies and urban studies. In showing how the tradition of English literature is shaped by representations of London, this volume also illuminates the relationship between the literary imagination and the society of one of the world's greatest cities.

About this title

Review:

'A magnificent force for good when it comes to challenging assumptions ... The long view provided by the Cambridge Companion is its greatest strength. More than any dry history book, this collection of thoughts and reflections - not to mention directions new and old to follow in your London reading life - is like a history lesson taken while walking with the likes of Dickens, Gissing and Pope as tour guides.' Time Out

'The authors take us effortlessly, in a broadly chronological sequence, from Chaucer's Southwark to Zadie Smith's Willesden in a fascinating journey through the works of many famous authors and some who are forgotten or unknown ... The scholarship is of a high order ... written in a friendly style that should engage any reader with an interest in London's rich literary history.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

'The 15 contributors to this volume take us effortlessly, in a broad chronological sequence,from Chaucer's Southwark to Zadie Smith's Willesden through the works of many authors ... This book's scholarship is of a high order but it is written in a friendly style, which should engage any reader with an interest in London's literary history.' The Independent

'... Brean Hammond considers 'London and Poetry to 1750' ... specifically London landmarks poetry. In his article Hammond traces the poetic tradition of responding to the city, and articulates the continuities between Donne and Dryden and Pope.' The Eighteenth Century

Book Description:

London has provided the setting and inspiration for a host of literary works, from canonical masterpieces to the popular and ephemeral. Drawing upon a variety of methods and materials, the essays in this volume explore representations of the city and its literary culture from medieval times to the present.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0521722314
• ISBN 13: 9780521722315
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 322