Books in the Literary Companions series

Though it gives separate treatment to genres such as idylls, epistolary poems, and popular dramatic monologues, this major assessment of Tennyson's work is broadly chronological.

Defoe occupies a central place in the history of English literature. As the author of Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders he can claim to be the creator of the first novels in English, and he was one of the earliest practitioners of the 'desert island' myth which has had such an influence on the human imagination.

Part III an essay on Burns as a poetic phenomenon, is sure to provoke debate about the relevance of Burns to his time and ours. A Select Bibliography (Part V) and four Appendixes (Part VI) are followed by a glossary of Scots words, and index of poems and a general index.