The English Renaissance celebrated human potential and achievement. This volume chronicles the Protestant Reformation, scientific discoveries and the political events of the period, and hightlights the burst of creativity in drama and poetry.

This volume covers the the wide-ranging historial, social and cultural developments since the end of World War II. The works of George Orwell, Samuel Beckett, Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Tom Stoppard, Salman Rushdie and others are examined for their depiction of this period.