“Professor Adams seems to have read the whole library and yet. . .retained his pith, vigor, suppleness, and good cheer. In addition, he knows how to tell a story. . . .One of the pleasure. . .lies in [the book’s] rich texture of cross-references between history and literature. . . .Exhilarating.” —Daniel Albright,
New York Review of Books
A companion to British literature explores the political, social, intellectual, and cultural history and background of English poetry, fiction, prose, and drama and analyzes the changing conditions of literary activity.