This collection of fifteen essays by leading scholars examines the extraordinary diversity and richness of the writing produced in response to, and as part of, the upheaval in the religious, political and cultural life of the nation which constituted the English Revolution. The turmoil of the civil wars fought out from 1639 to 1651, the shock of the execution of Charles I, and the uncertainty of the succeeding period of constitutional experiment were enacted and refigured in writing which both shaped and was shaped by the tumultuous times. The various strategies of this battle of the books are explored through essays on the course of events, intellectual trends and the publishing industry; in discussions of canonical figures such as Milton, Marvell, Bunyan and Clarendon; and in accounts of women's writing and of fictional and non-fictional prose. A full chronology, detailed guides to further reading and a glossary are included.
List of illustrations; List of contributors; Chronologies; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Contexts: 1. The causes and course of the British Civil Wars John Morrill; 2. Ideas in conflict: political and religious thought during the English Revolution Martin Dzelzainis; 3. Texts in conflict: the press and the Civil War Sharon Achinstein; Part II. Radical Voices: 4. Radical pamphleteering Thomas N. Corns; 5. Milton's prose David Loewenstein; 6. Andrew Marvell and the Revolution Annabel Patterson; 7. Women's poetry Susan Wiseman; 8. Women's histories Helen Wilcox and Sheila Ottway; 9. Prophecy, enthusiasm and female pamphleteers Elaine Hobby; 10. Royalist lyric Alan Rudrum; 11. Prayer-book devotion: the literature of the proscribed Church of England Isabel Rivers; 12. Royalist epic and romance Paul Salzman; 13. The English revolution and historiography David Norbrook; 14. Paradise Lost from Civil War to Restoration Nigel Smith; 15. Bunyan and the holy war Richard L. Greaves; Historical glossary.
