New Book Announcement
ENGLISH SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY: AN INTRODUCTORY GUIDE AND GLOSSARY, SECOND EDITION By BIBHASH CHOUDHURY, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of English, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam. Dr. Choudhury has edited Amitav Ghosh: Critical Essays (Second Edition) and authored Charles Dickens—Great Expectations and The Tempest, published by PHI Learning. Besides, some of his other publications include Beyond Cartography: The Contemporary South Asian Novel in English and Reading Postcolonial Theory: Key Texts in Context.
The second edition of the book, with its emending and updated text, provides a glimpse into the English life and culture, starting from the middle ages to the twenty-first century. As the English life and culture are inextricably interwoven with the literary traditions of England and its myriad aspects, this study provides significant insights into the field of English literature and the contexts it emerges from.
The text begins with a description of English life and culture from the Medieval period to the Renaissance. The author gives a masterly analysis of such subjects as Feudalism, Medieval Drama and literature, the Renaissance, the Reformation and most significantly, the Elizabethan Theatre. A new sub-section on ‘Women Writers of the Renaissance’ has been added to this chapter. Then, the text goes on to describe in detail about the Restoration Period and the Age of Reason. Besides, the book gives a wealth of information on important topics like Romanticism, the Industrial Revolution, Victorianism and Victorian literature. The text concludes with a chapter that deals on Modernism, Literature and Culture in the Postmodern World, and Aspects of Contemporary Culture and Society. In the last chapter, two sub-sections have been introduced on ‘British Fiction in the Twenty-First Century’ and ‘Brexit’.
What distinguishes the text is the provision of a Glossary at the end of each chapter, which gives not only the meaning and definition of the terms but also provides the entire cultural background and the history that these terms are associated with.
Students of English literature—both undergraduate honours and postgraduate students—will find this book highly informative, enlightening, and refreshing in its style. In addition, all those who have an abiding interest in English life and culture will find reading this text a stimulating and rewarding experience.
TARGET AUDIENCE
• BA (Hons.) English
• MA English Literature/English
Contents
Preface
Preface to the First Edition
From the Medieval to the Renaissance
In Transition: From the Restoration to the Age of Reason
English Society and Culture in the Nineteenth Century
From The Modern to the Postmodern: The Twentieth Century and Beyond
Bibliography
Purchase the book from our website http://social.phindia.com/Q3a8CmD3