Review by Choice Review
Prose fiction written between the beginning of Elizabeth I's reign and the beginning of the 18th century has not received the attention that other genres of the period have, and the author of this study deals admirably with a century and a half of diverse materials. This historical survey includes critical discussions of a number of individual works in order to represent the amazingly varied forms that prose fiction took. Many of these works would not be familiar to the nonspecialist reader, but the author puts them into a context of audience and of relationship to other works. A significant bibliography of ``all known extant works of fiction published between 1558 and 1700, including translations'' is included. The last few pages of this well-done survey generalize about the writing of a critical history. Many readers, though, would benefit from an attempt, whether introductory or concluding, at an overview of the complex subject matter. In a book ranging from Sidney's Arcadia to the Restoration novels of Aphra Behn, an overview would necessarily mean oversimplification, but it would still be useful. This work is appropriate for graduate students and upper-division undergraduates.-R.E. Burkhart, Eastern Kentucky University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
