An in-depth survey of drama in English up to 1590 which is based upon close readings of selected plays, including Thomas Kyd's "The Spanish Tragedy". The text covers many types of drama such as mystery cycles and the interludes, as well as comedy and tragedy.

What were the causes of Restoration drama's licentiousness? How did the elegantly-turned comedy of Congreve become the pointed satire of Fielding? And how did Sheridan and Goldsmith reshape the materials they inherited? Richard Bevis argues that none of these questions can be answered without an understanding of Augustan and Georgian history.

Here is an introduction to the history of English writing from East and West Africa drawing on a range of texts from the slave diaspora to the post-war upsurge in African English language and literature from these regions.