Books in the Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies series

Used in English schools into the twentieth century, this 1819 publication by the indefatigable writer and reformer William Cobbett (1763-1835) provides concise and practical explanations of a range of grammatical terms. It also includes 'specimens of false grammar' from Samuel Johnson and 'errors and nonsense' from George III.

This two-volume edition of some of Anna Laetitia Barbauld's poems and prose works, compiled by her niece Lucy Aikin, was published soon after her death in 1825. Volume 1 contains a short biography and a selection of poems in many genres, including a comic description of Joseph Priestley's study.

One of the most popular writers of his age, outsold only by Dickens, Edward George Bulwer Lytton (1803-73), first Baron Lytton, notably coined the phrases 'the great unwashed' and 'the pen is mightier than the sword'. This two-volume collection, posthumously published in 1883, illuminates a prolific literary life.

One of the most celebrated authors of the Victorian era, Anthony Trollope (1815-82) requested that his autobiography be published posthumously. The two-volume work, which first appeared in 1883, provides an insight into not only his writing methods and incredible discipline, but also the early experiences which influenced his fiction.

John William Polidori (1795-1821) was, for a brief period, the personal physician to Lord Byron. William Michael Rossetti, his nephew, published this manuscript diary in 1911. It is the only contemporary account of the few weeks, crucial to the development of Romanticism, during which Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.

These two volumes of the letters of Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729), founder of the Tatler and the Spectator, were compiled by the publisher John Nichols and published in 1809. In Volume 1, many of the letters are addressed to his second wife, others to literary and political friends.

This two-volume biography of William Wordsworth was published in 1851 by his nephew, Christopher, a scholar and cleric who later became bishop of Lincoln. Volume 1, beginning with an autobiographical sketch by the poet, describes his early years, his travels abroad, and his growing fame, and continues to 1810.

This two-volume collection of writings by three generations of the Taylor family was compiled and published in 1867. Volume 2 contains essays and verses by the four siblings, their father Isaac, and a cousin, Jemima, of which the most notable is the long short story 'Display' by Jane Taylor.

This collection of the remarks on many topics by John Selden (1584-1654) was compiled by his amanuensis Richard Milward and first published in 1689. Reissued here is a version annotated and with a biographical preface by the literary scholar Samuel Weller Singer (1783-1858) and published in 1847.

In the introduction to this 1833 work on the 'lives of distinguished northerns' - including Andrew Marvell, Anne Clifford, Richard Arkwright, and James Cook - Hartley Coleridge makes a distinction between biography as part of public history and as personal, local or family history: these sketches definitely fall into the latter category.

In this light-hearted book, the classical scholar J. P. Mahaffy (1839-1919) analyses the art of conversation in the same way that a classical scholar would analyse the art of rhetoric, discussing theoretical models as well as taking examples from history and from his own social life.

Although widely acclaimed today, John Keats (1795-1821) was often considered personally unsavoury and poetically underwhelming in his own time. Published in 1848, this two-volume collection of his letters, edited by Richard Monckton Milnes (1809-85), reveals the poet's true colours. Volume 2 focuses on his final years, incorporating his literary remains.

This three-volume collection of historical ballads, compiled by Thomas Percy (1729-1811), achieved great popularity upon its publication in 1765. It generated much interest in the genre, undented by Percy's oft-criticised editorial practices. Volume 1 includes 'The Ballad of Chevy Chase', 'The Jew's Daughter', and a ballad of Robin Hood.

In this two-volume memoir of 1906, William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919) provides an unparalleled glimpse into the dynamics of the Rossetti family, dealing with his own childhood and that of his siblings, the genesis of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and friendships with many outstanding cultural figures of the Victorian age.

The writer and society hostess Hester Lynch Piozzi (1741-1821) is best remembered as a friend and biographer of Samuel Johnson. This enlarged second edition of her autobiographical writings, edited by the essayist Abraham Hayward (1801-84) and incorporating correspondence, marginalia and poetry, was published in 1861.

Although widely acclaimed today, John Keats (1795-1821) was often considered personally unsavoury and poetically underwhelming in his own time. Published in 1848, this two-volume collection of his letters, edited by Richard Monckton Milnes (1809-85), reveals the poet's true colours. Volume 1 charts his early life up to 1819.

These 1837 reminiscences of Bristol bookseller Joseph Cottle (1770-1853), publisher of the Lyrical Ballads in 1798, have been described as 'unreliable but essential'. They contain evasions and distortions, but are valuable for their account of vital years in the lives of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey and William Wordsworth.

This two-volume biography, first published in 1780 and reissued here in the second edition of the same year, explores the life and times of the most important actor of his age, who as theatre manager at Drury Lane shaped the repertoire of the London stage. Volume 1 covers the years 1717-63.

First published in 1863, this work by Julia Kavanagh traces the contribution of English women writers from the seventeenth century to the development of the modern novel. Volume 1 contains biographical sketches and evaluates the work of Aphra Behn, Sarah Fielding, Madame D'Arblay (Fanny Burney), Charlotte Smith and Ann Radcliff.

This translation of the saga of the earls of Orkney was published in 1873. Joseph Anderson provides a lengthy introduction, discussing the geography of the islands, and using literary and archaeological material to put the work, which is written in Icelandic and dates from between 1170 and 1220, in context.

Alfred Bunn published these memoirs of his theatrical career in 1840. His account is written with a verve which makes it very readable, and provides a fascinating account of the period when Bunn was running both the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane and the Opera House at Covent Garden.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. For this second edition of Antony and Cleopatra, David Bevington has included in his introductory section a thorough consideration of recent critical and stage interpretations, demonstrating how the theatrical design and imagination of this play make it one of Shakespeare's most remarkable tragedies. The edition is attentive throughout to the play as theatre: a detailed, illustrated account of the stage history is followed, in the commentary, by discussion of staging options offered by the text. The commentary is especially full and helpful, untangling many obscure words and phrases, illuminating sexual puns, and alerting the reader to Shakespeare's shaping of his source material in Plutarch's Lives.

As You Like It has sometimes seemed a subversive play that exposes the instability of gender roles and traditional values. In other eras it has been prized - or derided - as a reliable celebration of conventional social mores. The play's ability to encompass these extremes tells an interesting story about changing cultural and theatrical practices. This edition provides a detailed history of the play in production, both on stage and on screen. The introduction examines how changing conceptions of gender roles have affected the portrayal of Rosalind, one of Shakespeare's greatest comic heroines. The striking differences between the British tradition and the freer treatment the play has received abroad are discussed, as well as the politics of court versus country. The commentary, printed alongside the New Cambridge Shakespeare edition of the text, draws on primary sources to illuminate how costuming, stage business, design, and directorial choices have shaped the play in performance.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. For this second edition of The Comedy of Errors, Ros King has revised T. S. Dorsch's renowned text and commentary and written a completely new introduction to the work. She argues that the play cannot be regarded merely as a farcical romp based on a classical model but that it belongs to the critically misunderstood genre of tragi-comedy. Emphasising the seriousness that underlies the text, she pays special attention to the play's religious imagery and at the same time engages fully with its lightness of touch and its continuing popularity in the theatre. The volume also features accounts of recent and historical performances, and an updated reading list.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. Edited and introduced by Martin Butler, this first New Cambridge Shakespeare edition of Cymbeline takes full account of the critical and historical scholarship produced in the late twentieth century. It foregrounds the romance, tragicomedy and Jacobean stagecraft that shape the play and offers a refreshingly unsentimental reading of the heroine, Innogen. Butler pays greater attention than his predecessors to the politics of 1610, especially to questions of British union and nationhood. He also offers a lively account of Cymbeline's stage history from 1610 to the present day. The text has been edited from the 1623 Folio and features a detailed commentary on its linguistic and historical features.

The third edition of Hamlet offers a completely new introduction to this rich, mysterious play. Supplemented by an updated reading list, extensive illustrations and helpful appendices, this edition features revised commentary notes explicitly designed for the student reader, offering the very best in contemporary criticism of this great tragedy.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. For this second edition of King Henry V, Shakespeare's most celebrated war play, Andrew Gurr has added a new section to his introduction in which he considers recent criticism and important contemporary productions of the play. Concentrating in particular on 'secret' versus 'official' readings of the work, he analyses Shakespeare's double vision of Henry as both military hero and self-seeking individual, and shows how the patriotic declarations of the Chorus are contradicted by the play's dramatic action. Controversial sequences are placed in the context of Elizabethan thought while the exceptional variety of language and dialect in the text is also studied. An updated reading list completes the edition.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. This third edition of Julius Caesar retains the text prepared by Marvin Spevak for the 1988 first edition and features a completely new introduction by Jeremy Lopez. Discussing in detail the play's strange and innovative form, Lopez explores the interpretive challenges Julius Caesar has presented to audiences, scholars and theatre companies from Shakespeare's time to our own. The textual commentary has been revised and updated with an eye, and ear, to the contemporary student reader, and the list of further readings has been updated to reflect the latest developments in scholarly criticism. The edition concludes with an Appendix containing relevant excerpts from Shakespeare's main source in Plutarch.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. Edited and introduced by L. A. Beaurline, the New Cambridge Shakespeare edition of King John offers the most complete account to date of the play's stage history, with accompanying illustrations to demonstrate its dramatic potential. Although King John fell out of fashion by the end of the nineteenth century, Beaurline shows how its political importance, rich and varied language, and skilful design suggest that it should occupy a prominent position among Shakespeare's historical tragedies. In the Appendix, Beaurline surveys the arguments about the dating of the play and the anonymous Troublesome Reign of King John, and presents new evidence to support the view that Shakespeare's play was written first.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. For this second edition of Measure for Measure Angela Stock has written a new introductory section that takes account of recent scholarly criticism and important contemporary productions on stage and film. The edition retains the text prepared by Brian Gibbons together with his comprehensive introduction, in which he shows how the play's critical reception and stage history varies from one period to the next according to the prevailing social, moral and religious issues of the day. Gibbons explores the thrilling experience of watching the play in performance, with its shocking reversals and surprises, great tragic poetry and exuberant comic prose. An updated reading list completes the edition.