Synopses & Reviews
Philip Schwyzer charts the genesis, development and disintegration of British nationalism in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Review
"...no one with an interest in English and British identities, and in nationalism in general, can fail to find this book enormously stimulating. Beautifully written and cleverly conceived, it is one of the most important studies of the culture of early modern Britain."
- H-Albion, Krishan Kumar, Department of Sociology, University of Virginia
Synopsis
Philip Schwyzer argues that the nation imagined in the works of writers such as Shakespeare and Spenser was not England, but Britain. Focusing on texts including The Faerie Queene, Henry V and King Lear, Schwyzer charts the genesis, development and disintegration of British nationalism in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. An important contribution to the expanding scholarship on early modern Britishness, this is the first study to give detailed attention to Welsh texts and traditions, arguing that Welsh sources crucially influenced the development of English literature and identity.
About the Author
Philip Schwyzer is Lecturer in Renaissance Literature and Culture at the University of Exeter.