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Eighteenth-Century Poetry by (Full text works by multiple authors, as well information about the works)
Currently the definitive text in the field and now available in an expanded third edition, Eighteenth-Century Poetry presents the rich diversity of English poetry from 1700-1800 in authoritative texts and with full scholarly annotation. Balanced to reflect current interests and "favorites" (including prominent poets like Finch, Swift, Pope, Montagu, Johnson, Gray, Burns, and Cowper) as well as less familiar material, offering a variety of voices and new directions for research and learning Includes 46 new poems with more texts by women poets and the inclusion of four additional poets (Mary Barber, Mehetabel Wright, Anna Seward, and Mary Robinson); poems reflecting new ecological approaches to 18th-century literature; and poems on the art of writing Accessible and user-friendly, with generous head notes, full foot-of-page annotations, an expanded thematic index, and a visually appealing text design
Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister by Aphra Behn
The first prominent female writer working in English, author Aphra Behn lived a fascinating life, spending time as a spy for the U.K. before turning her attention to literary pursuits. This novel tells the tale of a young woman who is seduced by her loutish brother-in-law and then goes to extreme lengths to secure their unholy union.
Oroonoko : Or, The Royal Slave by Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn was one of the first professional English female writers and Oroonoko was one of her earliest works. It is the love story between Oroonoko, the grandson of an African king, and the daughter of that king's general. The king takes the girl into his harem, and when she plans to escape with his grandson, sells her as a slave. When Oroonoko tries to follow her he is caught by an English slave trader and taken to the same West Indian island as his love.
Versions of Blackness : Key Texts on Slavery from the Seventeenth Century by Behn, Southern and more
Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko (1688) is one of the most widely studied works of seventeenth-century literature, because of its powerful representation of slavery and complex portrayal of ways in which differing races and cultures - European, Black African, and Native American - observe and misinterpret each other. This edition presents a new edition of Oroonoko, with unprecedentedly full and informative commentary, along with complete texts of three major British seventeenth-century works concerned with race and colonialism: Henry Neville's The Isle of Pines (1668), Behn's Abdelazer (1676), and Thomas Southerne's tragedy Oroonoko (1696). It combines these with a rich anthology of European discussions of slavery, racial difference, and colonial conquest from the mid-sixteenth century to the time of Behn's death. Many are taken from important works that have not hitherto been easily available, and the collection offers an unrivaled resource for studying the culture that produced Britain's first major fictions of slavery.
The Life, Adventures, and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton by Daniel Defoe
Recognized as one of the important early innovators in the novel format, British writer Daniel Defoe contributed such beloved works to the Western canon as Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. In The Life, Adventures, and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton, Defoe spins an unforgettable yarn that follows a well-born young man as he descends into a life of criminal enterprise on the high seas.
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe wrote Moll Flanders in 1722, after the highly successful Robinson Crusoe. Defoe's political work was ceasing at the time, though his experience with the Whigs shines through in the novel. The full title of the novel gives a brief overview of its contents:
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, Etc. Who Was Born In Newgate, and During a Life of Continu'd Variety For Threescore Years, Besides Her Childhood, Was Twelve Year a Whore, Five Times a Wife [Whereof Once To Her Own Brother], Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon In Virginia, At Last Grew Rich, Liv'd Honest, and Died a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The timeless tale of survival and adventure that set the standard for the English novel Robinson Crusoe is the only man still alive when his ship is destroyed in a terrible storm. Washing up on a deserted island, he realizes that he is stranded, with no immediate hope of rescue. Displaying remarkable ingenuity, Crusoe builds a crude home, raises crops, and keeps track of the passing days with a rudimentary calendar. Loneliness is his greatest adversary until a tribe of cannibals arrives with their intended victims. When one of the prisoners escapes, Crusoe rescues him. The shipwrecked sailor and his newfound companion, Friday--named for the day of the week on which Crusoe first meets him--band together to vanquish the cannibals and leave the Island of Despair forever. Based on the true accounts of eighteenth-century castaways, Robinson Crusoe popularized the then-new art form known as the novel. Nearly three hundred years after it was first published, it is still the rare classic with the power to thrill and edify in equal measure. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Widely considered the first gothic novel, and indeed an initiator of the whole genre, The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole. It tells the tale of the lord of a castle, Manfred, and his family. Manfred's son Conrad is about to be married to princess Isabella, but Conrad is killed; crushed to death by the fall of a huge helmet from above. In light of an ancient prophesy, this tragic event is especially ominous.
The Battle of the Books : And Other Works, Including 'a Modest Proposal' by Jonathan Swift
This discourse, as it is unquestionably of the same author, so it seems to have been written about the same time, with 'The Tale of a Tub;' I mean the year 1697, when the famous dispute was on foot about ancient and modern learning. The controversy took its rise from an essay of Sir William Temple's upon that subject. At length, there appearing no end of the quarrel, our author tells us that the books in St. James's Library, looking upon themselves as parties principally concerned... This discourse, as it is unquestionably of the same author, so it seems to have been written about the same time, with 'The Tale of a Tub;' I mean the year 1697, when the famous dispute was on foot about ancient and modern learning. The controversy took its rise from an essay of Sir William Temple's upon that subject. At length, there appearing no end of the quarrel, our author tells us that the books in St. James's Library, looking upon themselves as parties principally concerned, took up the controversy, and came to a decisive battle.". So begins Jonathan Swift's satire, The Battle of the Books , which tells of a great battle between the books in the King's Library. The name of his satire came be used in reference the the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is a witty and insightful satirical novel recounts the history of Lemuel Gulliver, "First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several Ships". In his travels Gulliver visits the Land of Lilliput, where he towers over the local inhabitants, the land of Brobdingnag where he is much smaller than the citizens, the floating island of Laputa, infested with fanatical scientists who in their obsession with reason behave with no sense at all and finally to the land of the brutish Yahoos who look to all intents and purposes like humans and are derided by the intelligent horse people. John Gay said in a 1726 letter to Swift that "it is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery"
Poems of William Blake by William Blake
Though his extraordinary talent went largely unrecognized during his own lifetime, British painter and poet William Blake is now regarded as one of the most important creative figures of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. Characterized by their mystical but accessible quality, Blake's poems prefigured the Romantic movement that would take hold later in the 1800s. This volume brings together Blake's best-known verse.
Love for Love by William Congreve
Fans of early modern drama will delight in this comic farce from William Congreve, author of The Way of the World. Centering on a group of deeply flawed, larger-than-life characters who seem to relish every opportunity to betray and back-stab one another, Love for Love offers a very jaundiced view of romance.
The Way of the World by William Congreve
The Way of the World premiered in England in 1700, and is considered on of the best Restoration comedies written. The play follows two lovers, their quest to marry, and the myriad characters and relationships which stand in their way.