A New Companion to English Renaissance Literature and Culture

In this revised and greatly expanded edition of the original Companion, some eighty of the very best modern scholars, including Judith H. Anderson, Patrick Collinson, Alison Findlay, Germaine Greer, Malcolm Jones, Arthur F. Kinney, James Knowles, Arthur F. Marotti, Robert S. Miola, and Greg Walker, come together to offer an original and far-reaching assessment of English Renaissance literature and culture. The expansion into two volumes – with over twenty new essays   –allows for the exploration of further aspects of a wide range of topics, including material culture, theatre – both inside and outside the playhouses – sectarian writing, further forms of popular writing, the history of the body, gardens, law, and ecology in early modern England.

Sections are interspersed with new readings of key texts, both canonical and non-canonical, and are designed to exemplify aspects of the topics dealt with in the remaining chapters. All of the essays from the first edition, along with the recommendations for further reading, have been reworked or updated.

Unrivalled in range and in its exploration of unfamiliar literary and cultural territories, the Companion offers a pioneering study of the phenomenon of the Renaissance.