by Leo Damrosch
First published 1988
Leopold Damrosch Jr. gathers scholarship written since 1970 to examine the literature that shaped the eighteenth century. The collection covers every major writer from this period through diverse critical lenses. Essays analyze specific works including Tom Jones, Gulliver's Travels, Clarissa, Robinson Crusoe, Tristram Shandy, and Boswell's Life of Johnson alongside broader literary movements. Twenty distinguished contributors including C.J. Rawson, Irvin Ehrenpreis, Ronald Paulson, John J. Richetti, Leo Braudy, Lawrence Lipking, and Patricia Meyer Spacks offer both sweeping surveys and focused textual analysis. The volume balances theoretical frameworks with practical interpretation, making complex literary scholarship accessible to readers at different levels. These carefully selected pieces demonstrate how modern critics understand the period's innovations in fiction, biography, and prose style.
Genres: literature, essays, literary-criticism, non-fiction, criticism, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: academic
Period: 18th-Century, 20th-Century
502 pages · Paperback · Oxford University Press