The French Revolution And English Literature

The first major collection of essays to provide a comprehensive examination of the British literature of the French Revolution.

Discusses the significance of the French Revolution in English literary and cultural history, particularly in the works of Edmund Burke, William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Thomas Carlyle.

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"The French Revolution ignited the biggest debate on politics and society in Britain since the Civil War 150 years earlier. The public controversy lasted from the initial, positive reaction to French events in 1789 to the outlawing of the radical societies in 1799. This Cambridge Companion highlights the energy, variety and inventiveness of the literature written in response to events in France and the political reaction at home. It contains thirteen specially commissioned essays by an international team of historians and literary scholars, a chronology of events and publications, and an extensive guide to further reading. Six essays concentrate on the principal writers of the Revolution controversy: Burke, Paine, Godwin and Wollstonecraft. Others deal with popular radical culture, counter-revolutionary culture, the distinctive contribution of women writers, novels of opinion, drama, and poetry. This volume will serve as a comprehensive yet accessible reference work for students, advanced researchers and scholars"--Library of Congress.

First Published in 1965. This is a general account of the influence on English history of the period of the French Revolution. This volume seeks to fill that gap and to sketch an outline of the workings in force that penetrated English life, directly and by reaction, far into the nineteenth century. The general thread of politics, theory, and literature are traced, and concrete illustration is also supplied from the experiences of individuals, poets, politicians, and working men. Some unused material remains in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and in the Privy Council records ; and this has been drawn upon. Printed biographies, pamphlets, and newspapers supply the bulk of the evidence.