The History of English Literature

by Perry Keenlyside, Perry Keenlyside

Perry Keenlyside tells the remarkable story of the world's richest literary resource. The story-telling, the poetry, the growth of the novel and the great histories and essays which have informed the language and the imagination wherever English is spoken. This is the fourth in the Naxos AudioBooks Histories series.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Literature, Classics, Books About Books

4 pages, Audio CD

First published June 2, 2001

Reviews

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

A five-hour audio book about this subject can't help but be a survey or overview without being really in-depth about any one period of English literature. But taken on that level, it's quite good with a number of insightful comments. It's helped along enormously by being narrated by Derek Jacobi, with a cast of talented readers jumping in to read excerpts from poems, plays and novels.

I was annoyed that the book completely skips over the Golden Age of Mystery that gave us authors like Christie and Sayers. This is a genre that has a lot of value beyond its popular appeal and deserves discussion in any overview of literature. (To be fair, Sherlock Holmes is prominently mentioned in the section about the Victorian era.

I even enjoyed comments on writers such as James Joyce or Virginia Wolfe. You couldn't pay me to try to read one of their books again, but their contribution to literature is undeniable and its good to hear intelligent comments on why this is--even if I don't myself care for them. (If I could travel in time, one of my missions would be to dope-slap Joyce's publisher for not forcing him to put proper punciation back into his books.)

The book starts with Chaucer (who wrote in Middle English, which was close enough to Modern Enligh to be a rational starting point) and ends with writers from the latter half of the 20th Century.

[Riya ❤️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very good. Too basic. Good if you're looking for an introduction but then why not just read something from supersummary instead? Honestly, I don't think it was worth the money. The music they played between chapters was my favourite part of this audiobook (it was really good hehe).

[Doris Raines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I. Love.

[Grace Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, useful survey.

[Zulfiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

One can write volumes about English Literature, and one can write a concise book, and both types have a place in the world.

[Brigitta]

Brief and useful.

[Shishir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief summary of the greatest English authors illustrating some of their writing styles

[Ray Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a brief, superficial though enjoyable survey of British literature. This brief study begins with Chaucer and ends with the performance artist/poets of the 21st century. However, the book only spend a few lines on many authors and periods.

the feature of the book I enjoyed most was that Keenlyside includes excerpts from most periods and many key authors. I've enjoyed more in depth studies of individual authors as well as the works of many visited here. Never the less, this is a useful overview which identifies the major periods and key authors. I'm always developing a reading list. This work left me with several books and authors to look into in order to round out my English literary experience.

[Marius van Blerck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather good summation of English Literature from Chaucer to modern times. I found it well-written, insightful and rather a delight. If it has a slight fault, it could have dwelt a little more on writers from about 1800 to 1950, and a little less on the modern era, but that's just me ... (Note: It deals exclusively with English writers, in the sense of them being English by birth or assimilation ... rather than the broader scope of literature in the English language.)

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of English Literature. It makes parallels between English history and literature, emphasising interesting aspects of each time. I especially liked the last chapter, because I didn't really know many of the writers mentioned. The narration by Derek Jacobi is very good and lively. I also appreciated the other voices when reading excerpts, because it makes it easier to follow in the audiobook.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, well acted, quick moving overview of the history of English literature. They use a variety of voices to read works from Chaucer to Salmon Rushdie and everyone in-between. I appreciated that Keenlyside brings the survey into the 21st century. Take note, this is English Lit, not english speaking literature.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK - so you have to be a total geek prior English lit major to listen to this but there are a variety of British readers which makes it a lot of fun to listen to.

[Benjamin Wilkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short even for a survey, but there were a few authors I didn't know much about and it's always nice to listen to Derek Jacobi.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough overview but nothing I didn't know. Great for someone new to English Literature but for those who have studied it this book is probably too basic.