John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

by Germaine Greer

Rochester was the most original talent among the poets of the Restoration and deserves serious study. Professor Germaine Greer's account of his work strives conscientiously to place it in its socio-political context and to describe the way the poet and and his work were co-opted after his premature death to serve contrasting political agendas.

Genres: History

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Germaine Greer is an Australian born writer, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century.

Greer's ideas have created controversy ever since her ground-breaking The Female Eunuch became an international best-seller in 1970, turning her overnight into a household name and bringing her both adulation and criticism. She is also the author of Sex and Destiny: The Politics of Human Fertility (1984), The Change: Women, Ageing and the Menopause (1991), and most recently Shakespeare's Wife (2007).

Reviews

[Frank Ashe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was fascinated to see what Greer would see in Rochester. She finds a much more complicated person than that gained from the notorious poems that we know him by now.

[Kirsty Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sexist, yet funny.