The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. C: The Restoration the Eighteenth Century by M.H. Abrams

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. C: The Restoration the Eighteenth Century Reviews

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  Jewels

  Okay, so a lot of books on my list happen to be college texts, since they are required for my courses. However, most Norton anthologies I would probably purchase just for the sheer love of them. Not only do they contain some of the most important classics and philosophical writers across the ages, but they also provide footnotes and translator's impressions so that the work becomes clearer. I am especially blown away by those translators -- they allow me to glimpse into the minds of some of the most brilliant thinkers that otherwise I'd be unable to peruse. These books truly make the college experience enjoyable for me.
• 
  Roya

  Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed it. Eighteenth century can be pretty baffling and dull, yet it's filled with seeds of greatness - also, to quote directly from the introduction, "The conversations this period started started have not ended yet." Is that the coolest thing or what?
• 
  Jane

  Just started this book. It's the first of the series I purchased.
  The book is over 1,000 pages so who knows when I will finish..Introduction is very well done. Have the texts on
  Middle Ages and Victorian era also..
  Ordered the others in the series that I could get my hands on except for Modern....just not interested in that one. Wish i had discovered these years ago. Will provide updates as I go along..
• 
  Joti

  Of course I didn’t get to read it cover to cover for my 18th cent lit class but I enjoyed, for the most part, what I did read. Swift and Fielding were some favourites of mine in the course 😄
• 
  Rachel Matsuoka

  The commentary and bios did a great job of explaining the texts and humanizing the authors, but I didn't care for the selections.
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  Nicole

  I did not read the whole book because it is an anothology and it was required text so I had only read some of the stories. Therefore I give it a 3 because I didn't read alll the material in the book. What I did read though I liked very much.
  
  Absalom and Achitophel
  Satire against Reason and Mankind
  An Essay on Man
  Hudibras
  Upon Nothing
  
  
  The book itself is a mixture of poetry and prose. I, ideally, would like to read all the material in the book, however since it is an anothology some of the material isn't complete. some are just excerpts. So I am marking it as read.
  
  It is though a really good anthology, Norton publications are similar to Penguin in the sense that they pick the best of the best. (whether you like it or not). From the above list of the text that I read, they were great. Funny, witty, smart, good writing.
• 
  Laura

  I read the majority of this book for my Engl Lit II class. It seemed like most of the stuff I read was interesting but after I was done, I wasn't entirely sure that I had understood everything I had just read. It seemed to have a decent overview of authors and I thought it was a well put together book. I definitely wouldn't read it in my spare time though.
  
  *Taken from my book reviews blog:
  http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2010...
• 
  Jack Evans

  As all of the Norton Anthologies, the book itself is well put together and provides good background to the era and to each piece of literature. My rating reflects my reaction not to the anthology, but to the literature in question- of the three Norton Anthologies of English Literature up to the 1800s, this volume was the least interesting to me.
• 
  Lori

  Full of classic pieces of literature. Didn't read the whole thing - cover to cover - but most of it. Not my favorite period of Brit Lit. But I did learn some very interesting things about the history of literature and how the influences of the political and religious world changed and evolved into what we have today.
• 
  Diana

  Third book in the set of textbooks for my British Literature class. I knew some of the authors in this section, but I ended up realizing that I had not read quite a few of them. I was glad to have them as a requirement for class. I loved taking this class and plan on taking the second one as soon as I can fit it into my schedule.
• 
  Phillip

  I read this as a textbook in college but have kept it because I love it. My copy has rice paper pages because otherwise it would be impossibly huge.
  
  It contains full texts of the restoration writers. It will make you love Dryden, Swift, and Pope.
• 
  Becky Hoffman

  I have never been one for poetry during the Enlightenment period, because to me it just dragged on and on and on and on and then the next thing you know my brain goes into shock and I'm dead. Just my opinion, not a very good one, but I struggled with this book.
• 
  jacky

  This is one of the three Norton volumnes that I used in my English literature course in college.
• 
  Marisa Crowley

  Great survey of literature from that time period, would recommend it.
• 
  Mairéad (is roaming the Undying Lands)

  3.5 Stars.
  
  ***Read For School***
• 
  Chantel

  I haven't read every story, but a large portion and I found some really great works in there. Stories I hope to tell my children one day!