The Cambridge History of American Literature: Volume 1, 1590-1820

by Sacvan Bercovitch

Overview

The Cambridge History of American Literature addresses the spectrum of new and established directions in American writing. An interdisciplinary distillation of American literary history, it weds the voice of traditional criticism with the diversity of interests that characterize contemporary literary studies. Volume 1 covers the colonial and early national periods, discussing authors ranging from Renaissance explorers to the poets and novelists of the new republic. It should prove an indispensable guide for scholars and students in the fields of English and American literatures and American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521301053
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/25/1994
Series:	The Cambridge History of American Literature , #1
Pages:	845
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.29(h) x 1.77(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The literature of colonisation Myra Jehlen; 2. New England puritan literature Emory Elliott; 3. British-American belles lettres David S. Shields; 4. The American enlightenment 1750–1820 Robert A. Ferguson; 5. The literature of the revolutionary and early national periods Michael T. Gilmore; Chronology; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...by far the best there is....Other multi-authored literary histories exist to be consulted, but the first volume of the Cambridge History exists to be read with sustained interest." Modern Language Quarterly

"What truly distinguishes this volume from other major histories of American literature in this century is the impressive level of scholarly energy and critical innovation that is sustained consistently across all 700 pages of the text...the first volume of the Cambridge History contains the most substantial and sophisticated set of essays to be published together as a comprehensive history of early American literature..." William and Mary Quarterly

"...a bold enterprise. It promises to be the history of the subject for our generation..." Times Higher Education Supplement

"The Cambridge History of American Literature [...] is, without doubt and without any serious rival, THE scholarly history for our generation." —Journal of American Studies

From the Publisher