The Making of the English Literary Canon from the Middle Ages to the Late Eighteenth Century

"An important analytical history of the cultural perceptions of English literature ... strongly recommended, particularly for graduate students, researchers, and faculty." CHOICE "The Making of the English Literary Canon is the definitive historical account of literary canon making in English. Lucidly written and soundly researched, it makes accessible a vast body of materials that has barely received the critical attention it deserves. The book covers an impressive range from the medieval and Renaissance periods through to the end of the eighteenth century. Comparing various forms of canon making, from the fifteenth-century antiquarians' lists to Samuel Johnson's Lives, Ross brings together writers who are never usually considered within the bindings of a single book. Ross's sociological approach to the questions of literary production, consumption, and reproduction will provide an important corrective to some aspects of knee-jerk Foucauldianism among New Historicists." Marcie Frank, Department of English, Concordia University