In an England inhabited by Pepys, Evelyn, Dryden, Hobbes and the young Isaac Newton, Charles II is king, and the nation is beginning to relax a little after the tough, joyless years of Cromwell's Protectorate. In RESTORATION, Alex Larman paints a fascinating portrait of a country in the throes of social, political and cultural change following the convulsions of the Interregnum. Exploring every level of English society, from innkeepers and upholsterers to lawyers and courtiers, and examining themes as diverse as marriage, sexuality and religion, he creates a pointilliste and multi-faceted portrait of Restoration England. By looking at the year 1666 through the eyes of the people of the time, by revealing what they ate and drank, how they loved, lived and died and how they interacted, Alex Larman brings alive the England of 300 years ago as you have never seen it before: exciting, tangible, and fully comprehensible.

In all six of its volumes The Broadview Anthology of British Literature presents British literature in a truly distinctive light. Fully grounded in sound literary and historical scholarship, the anthology takes a fresh approach to many canonical authors, and includes a wide selection of work by lesser-known writers. The anthology also provides wide-ranging coverage of the worldwide connections of British literature, and it pays attention throughout to issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. It includes comprehensive introductions to each period, providing in each case an overview of the historical and cultural as well as the literary background. It features accessible and engaging headnotes for all authors, extensive explanatory annotations, and an unparalleled number of illustrations and contextual materials. Innovative, authoritative and comprehensive, The Broadview Anthology of British Literature has established itself as a leader in the field. The full anthology comprises six bound volumes, together with an extensive website component; the latter has been edited, annotated, and designed according to the same high standards as the bound book component of the anthology, and is accessible by using the passcode obtained with the purchase of one or more of the bound volumes. For the second edition of this volume a considerable number of changes have been made. Henry Fielding’s Tragedy of Tragedies has been added, as has a new section of material from eighteenth-century periodicals. A new Contexts section entitled “Transatlantic Currents” includes writings by such figures as Paine, Franklin, and Price, as well as material on the slave trade. The Contexts sections on “Town and Country” and on “Mind and God, Faith and Science” have also been expanded; a variety of writings on the Royal Society and other scientific matters have been added to the latter. Additional chapters from Equiano’s Interesting Narrative have been added, and there are new selections by Samuel Johnson (including his “Letter to Lord Chesterfield” and facsimile pages from the Dictionary). Book 3 from Gulliver’s Travels has been added; that work now appears in its entirety. There are also additional selections by Pope, Pepys, and Astell. The Castle of Otranto and The Witlings have been moved from the bound book to the website component of the anthology. (Both are available as volumes in the Broadview Editions series, and may be added at a very modest additional cost in a shrink-wrapped combination package.)

Deborah C. Payne explores how the duopoly of 1660 impacted company practices, stagecraft, the box office, and actors and writers.