Download or read book British Literature: A Historical Overview written by Joseph Black and published by Broadview Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These two volumes provide an overview of British literature in its social and historical context from the Anglo-Saxon period through to the twenty-first century. They trace literary developments in all genres, and touch as well on key developments in the history of the language and the history of print culture. Additionally, they provide essential historical background for those unfamiliar with the unfolding of British political, social, economic, and cultural history during each of the six periods into which the study of British literature is commonly divided (The Medieval Period, The Renaissance and Early Seventeenth Century, The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, The Age of Romanticism, The Victorian Era, The Twentieth Century and Beyond).