The Pelican guide to English literature. cover

The Pelican guide to English literature.

by Boris Ford

What this work sets out to offer is a guide to the history and traditions of English Literature, a contour-map of the literary scene. It attempts, that is, to draw up an ordered account of literature that is concerned, first and foremost, with value for the present, and this is a direct encouragement to people to read for themselves. Each volume sets out to present the reader with four kinds of related material: (i) An account of the social context of literature in each period. (ii) A literary survey of the period. (iii) Detailed studies of some of the chief writers and works in the period. (iv) An appendix of essential facts for reference purposes. The volumes in the Guide are 1. THE AGE OF CHAUCER 2. THE AGE OF SHAKESPEARE 3. FROM DONNE TO MARVELL 4. FROM DRYDEN TO JOHNSON 5. FROM BLAKE TO BYRON 6. FROM DICKENS TO HARDY 7. THE MODERN AGE

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?