View source for British literature

{{Short description|Body of literature written in or related to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland}}
{{For|an overview of all English-language literature|English literature}}
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{{Use British English|date=May 2020}}
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'''British literature''' is from the [[United Kingdom|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]], the [[Isle of Man]], and the [[Channel Islands]]. This article covers British literature in the [[English language]]. Anglo-Saxon ([[Old English]]) literature is included, and there is some discussion of [[Anglo-Latin literature|Latin]] and [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] literature, where literature in these languages relate to the early development of the [[English language]] and [[English literature|literature]]. There is also some brief discussion of major figures who wrote in [[Scots language|Scots]], but the main discussion is in the various [[Scottish literature]] articles.

The article [[Literature in the other languages of Britain]] focuses on the literatures written in the other languages that are, and have been, used in Britain. There are also articles on these various literatures: [[Latin literature in Britain]], [[Anglo-Norman literature|Anglo-Norman]], [[Cornish literature|Cornish]], [[Guernésiais]], [[Jèrriais literature|Jèrriais]], [[Anglo-Latin literature|Latin]], [[Manx literature|Manx]], [[Scottish Gaelic literature|Scottish Gaelic]], [[Welsh-language literature|Welsh]], etc.

[[Irish literature|Irish writers]] have played an important part in the development of literature in England and [[Scotland]], but though the whole of [[Ireland]] was politically part of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] from January 1801 to December 1922, it can be controversial to describe [[Irish literature]] as British. For some this includes works by authors from [[Literature of Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland]].

The United Kingdom publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2014-10-22 |title=UK publishes more books per capita than any other country, report shows|work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/22/uk-publishes-more-books-per-capita-million-report |access-date=2023-07-06 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==British identity==
The nature of [[Britishness|British identity]] has changed over time. The island that contains [[England]], [[Scotland]], and [[Wales]] has been known as [[Great Britain|Britain]] from the time of the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Pliny the Elder]] ({{circa|23 AD}}–79).<ref name="PlinyE(4.41)">Pliny the Elder's ''Naturalis Historia'' Book IV. Chapter XLI [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+4.41&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0138 Latin text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D30 English translation], numbered Book 4, Chapter 30,
at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref> [[English language|English]] as the national language had its beginnings with the [[Anglo-Saxon invasion]] which started around AD 450.<ref>Jones & Casey 1988:367–98 "The Gallic Chronicle Restored: a Chronology for the Anglo-Saxon Invasions and the End of Roman Britain".</ref> Before that, the inhabitants mainly spoke various [[Celtic languages]]. The various constituent parts of the present [[United Kingdom]] joined at different times. Wales was annexed by the [[Kingdom of England]] under the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542|Acts of Union]] of 1536 and 1542. However, it was not until 1707 with [[Treaty of Union|a treaty]] between England and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] that the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] came into existence. This merged in January 1801 with the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] to form the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]. Subsequently, [[Irish nationalism]] led to the [[Partition of Ireland|partition of the island of Ireland]] in 1922; thus the literature of the [[Republic of Ireland]] is not British, although literature from [[Northern Ireland]] is both Irish and British.<ref name=Deane>{{cite book|last=Deane|first=Seamus|title=A Short History of Irish Literature|year=1986|publisher=Hutchinson|location=London|isbn=0091613612}}</ref>
In 1927 the [[Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927]] formally changing the name of the [[UK]] to the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]]. 
Until fairly recent times Celtic languages continued to be spoken widely in Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland, and these languages still survive, especially in parts of Wales.

[[Welsh literature in English|Works written in the English language by Welsh writers]], especially if their subject matter relates to Wales, has been recognised as a distinctive entity since the 20th century. The need for a separate identity for this kind of writing arose because of the parallel development of modern [[Welsh-language literature]].<ref>[[Raymond Garlick]] ''An Introduction to Anglo-Welsh Literature'' (University of Wales Press, 1970).</ref>

Because Britain was a [[British Empire|colonial power]] the use of English spread through the world; from the 19th century or earlier in the United States, and later in other former colonies, major writers in English began to appear beyond the boundaries of Britain and Ireland; later these included Nobel laureates.<ref>{{Cite news|title=A report on stories from the outposts of Commonwealth literature |first=Douglas |last=Hill |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=1 October 1988 |page=21 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=English Is a World Language – and That's to Be Prized |first=Robert |last=McCrum |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=13 October 2003 |page=B15 }}</ref>

==The coming of the Anglo-Saxons: 449–c.1066==
===The other languages of early Britain===
Although the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] withdrew from Britain in the early 5th century, [[Anglo-Latin|Latin literature]], mostly ecclesiastical, continued to be written, including [[Chronicle]]s by [[Bede]] (672/3–735), ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]''; and [[Gildas]] ({{circa|500}}–570), ''[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]''. 
[[File:Gododdin1.jpg|thumb|upright|A facsimile page of ''[[Y Gododdin]]'' c.&nbsp;1275]]

Various [[Celtic language]]s were spoken by many British people at that time. Among the more important written works that have survived are ''[[Y Gododdin]]'' and the [[Mabinogion]]. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, [[Viking]]s and [[Norsemen|Norse]] settlers and their descendants [[Scandinavian Scotland|colonised parts of what is now modern Scotland]]. Some [[Old Norse poetry]] survives relating to this period, including the ''[[Orkneyinga saga]]'', an historical narrative of the history of the [[Orkney Islands]], from its capture by the Norwegian king in the 9th century until about 1200.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://orkneyjar.com/history/|title=Orkneyjar – The History and Archaeology of the Orkney Islands}}</ref>

===Old English literature: c. 658–1100===
{{Main|Old English literature}}
[[File:Beowulf Cotton MS Vitellius A XV f. 132r.jpg|left|upright|thumb|First page facsimile of [[Beowulf]]]]
[[Old English literature]], or Anglo-Saxon literature, encompasses the surviving literature written in [[Old English]] in [[Anglo-Saxon England]], from the settlement of the [[Saxon people|Saxons]] and other Germanic tribes in England ([[Jutes]] and the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]]) around 450, until "soon after the Norman Conquest" in 1066; that is, c. 1100–50.<ref name = Drabble1996>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed. Margaret Drabble. (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1996)</ref>{{rp|323}} These works include genres such as [[epic poem|epic poetry]], [[hagiography]], [[sermon]]s, [[Bible]] translations, legal works, [[chronicle]]s, riddles, and others.<ref name =doma>[[Angus Cameron (academic)|Angus Cameron]] (1983). "Anglo-Saxon literature" in ''[[Dictionary of the Middle Ages]]'', v. 1, pp. 274–88.</ref> In all. there are about 400 surviving [[manuscript]]s from the period.<ref name = doma />

[[Orature|Oral tradition]] was very strong in early [[Anglo-Saxon England|English culture]] and most literary works were written to be performed.<ref>{{Citation | first = Francis P jr | last = Magoun | title = The Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry | journal = Speculum | year = 1953 | volume = 28 | issue = 3 | pages = 446–67 | doi=10.2307/2847021| jstor = 2847021 | s2cid = 162903356 }}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Fry | first = Donald K jr | year = 1968 | title = The Be aware of a wolf Poet: A Collection of Critical Essays | place = Englewood Cliffs | publisher = Prentice-Hall | pages = 83–113}}.</ref> [[Epic poetry|Epic poems]] were thus very popular, and some, including ''[[Beowulf]]'', have survived to the present day. ''Beowulf'' is the most famous work in Old English and has achieved [[national epic]] status in England, despite being set in Scandinavia.

Nearly all Anglo-Saxon authors are anonymous: 12 are known by name from medieval sources, but only four of those are known by their vernacular works with any certainty: [[Cædmon]], [[Bede]], [[Alfred the Great]], and [[Cynewulf]]. Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known.<ref>O'Keeffe, Katherine O'Brien (January 1987). "Orality and the Developing Text of Caedmon's Hymn". Speculum 62 (1). {{doi|10.2307/2852564}}. {{JSTOR|2852564}}</ref> Cædmon's only known surviving work is ''Cædmon's Hymn'', which probably dates from the late 7th century.

Chronicles contained a range of historical and literary accounts, and a notable example is the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]''.<ref>Stanley Brian Greenfield, ''A New Critical History of Old English Literature'' (New York: New York University Press, 1986).</ref> The poem ''[[The Battle of Maldon (poem)|Battle of Maldon]]'' also deals with history. This is the name given to a work, of uncertain date, celebrating the real [[Battle of Maldon]] of 991, at which the Anglo-Saxons failed to prevent a [[Viking]] invasion.<ref name = Drabble1996/>{{rp|369}}

Classical antiquity was not forgotten in Anglo-Saxon England, and several Old English poems are adaptations of [[Late Antiquity|late classical]] philosophical texts. The longest is [[King Alfred]]'s (849–99) translation of [[Boethius]]' ''[[Consolation of Philosophy]]''.<ref>Walter John Sedgefield (ed.), ''King Alfred's Old English Version of Boethius: De consolatione philosophiae'', 1968 (1899)</ref>

==Late medieval literature: 1066–1500==
[[File:Bedivere.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bedivere|Sir Bedivere]] casts [[King Arthur]]'s sword [[Excalibur]] back to the [[Lady of the Lake]]. The [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian Cycle]] has influenced British literature across languages and down the centuries.]]
{{main|Middle English literature}}
The linguistic diversity of the islands in the medieval period contributed to a rich variety of artistic production, and made British literature distinctive and innovative.<ref name=Companion>''Language and Literature'', Ian Short, in ''A Companion to the Anglo-Norman World'', edited Christopher Harper-Bill and [[Elisabeth van Houts]], Woodbridge 2003, {{ISBN|0-85115-673-8}}</ref>

Some works were still written in Latin; these include [[Gerald of Wales]]'s late-12th-century book on his beloved Wales, ''[[Itinerarium Cambriae]]''. After the [[Norman Conquest]] of 1066, [[Anglo-Norman literature]] developed, introducing literary trends from [[Continental Europe]], such as the ''[[chanson de geste]]''. However, the indigenous development of Anglo-Norman literature was precocious in comparison to continental [[Oïl languages|Oïl]] literature.<ref name=Companion />

[[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] ({{circa|1100}} – {{circa|1155}}) was one of the major figures in the [[English historians in the Middle Ages|development of British history]] and of the popularity of the tales of [[King Arthur]]. He is best known for his chronicle ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' (History of the Kings of Britain) of 1136, which spread [[Celtic mythology|Celtic motifs]] to a wider audience. [[Wace]] ({{circa|1110}} – after 1174), who wrote in [[Norman-French]], is the earliest known poet from [[Jersey]]; he also developed the [[Arthurian legend]].<ref>Burgess, ed., xiii;</ref>) At the end of the 12th century, [[Layamon]] in ''[[Layamon's Brut|Brut]]'' adapted Wace to make the first English-language work to use the legends of King Arthur and the [[Knights of the Round Table]]. It was also the first [[historiography]] written in English since the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]].

===Middle English===
Interest in King Arthur continued in the 15th century with Sir [[Thomas Malory]]'s ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'' (1485), a popular and influential compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances. It was among the early books printed in England by [[William Caxton|Caxton]].

In the later medieval period a new form of English now known as [[Middle English]] evolved. This is the earliest form which is comprehensible to modern readers and listeners, albeit not easily. [[Middle English Bible translations]], notably [[Wycliffe's Bible]], helped to establish English as a literary language. Wycliffe's Bible is the name now given to a group of [[Bible translations]] into Middle English that were made under the direction of, or at the instigation of, [[John Wycliffe]]. They appeared over a period from about 1382 to 1395.<ref>{{Citation | title = Catholic Encyclopedia | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15367a.htm | contribution = Versions of the Bible | publisher = New advent}}</ref>

''[[Piers Plowman]]'' or ''Visio Willelmi de Petro Plowman'' (''William's Vision of Piers Plowman'') (written c. 1360–1387) is a Middle English [[allegorical]] [[narrative poem]] by [[William Langland]]. It is written in unrhymed [[alliterative verse]] divided into sections called "passūs" ([[Latin]] for "steps"). ''Piers'' is considered by many critics to be one of the early great works of English literature along with [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer's]] ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'' and ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'' during the Middle Ages.

''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late-14th-century Middle English [[Alliterative verse|alliterative]] [[chivalric romance|romance]]. It is one of the better-known Arthurian stories, of an established type known as the "beheading game". Developing from Welsh, Irish and English tradition ''Sir Gawain'' highlights the importance of honour and chivalry. "Preserved in the same manuscript with Sir Gawayne were three other poems, now generally accepted as the work of its author, including the intricate elegiac poem, ''[[Pearl (poem)|Pearl]]''."<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/546495/Sir-Gawayne-and-the-Grene-Knight "Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight."] Encyclopaedia Britannica.</ref>

[[File:Geoffrey Chaucer (17th century).jpg|upright|thumb|left|[[Geoffrey Chaucer]], father of English literature]]
Geoffrey Chaucer ({{circa|1343}} – 1400), known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in [[Poet's Corner]] in [[Westminster Abbey]]. Chaucer is best known today for ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'', a collection of stories written in Middle English (mostly written in verse although some are in prose), that are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from [[Southwark]] to the shrine of Saint [[Thomas Becket]] at [[Canterbury Cathedral]]. Chaucer is a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of Middle English at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.

The multilingual nature of the audience for literature in the 14th century can be illustrated by the example of [[John Gower]] ({{circa|1330}} – October 1408). A contemporary of Langland and a personal friend of Chaucer, Gower is remembered primarily for three major works, the ''Mirroir de l'Omme'', ''[[Vox Clamantis]]'', and ''[[Confessio Amantis]]'', three long poems written in [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]], Latin, and Middle English respectively, which are united by common moral and political themes.<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Gower, John}}</ref>

Women writers were also active, such as Marie de France in the 12th century and [[Julian of Norwich]] in the early 14th century. Julian's ''[[Revelations of Divine Love]]'' (around 1393) is believed to be the first published book written by a woman in the English language.<ref name="ec">{{cite book
 |editor1=[[Edmund Colledge]] |editor2=James Walsh, S.J.
 | author = Julian of Norwich
 | title=Showings
 | publisher=Paulist Press
 | year = 1978
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IPCwHOwX_BgC&q=julian+of+norwich+showings
 | isbn = 978-0-8091-2091-8
}}
</ref> [[Margery Kempe]] ({{circa|1373}} – after 1438) is known for writing ''[[The Book of Margery Kempe]]'', a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language.

Major Scottish writers from the 15th century include [[Robert Henryson|Henrysoun]], [[William Dunbar|Dunbar]], [[Gavin Douglas|Douglas]] and [[David Lyndsay|Lyndsay]]. The works of [[Chaucer's influence on 15th-century Scottish literature|Chaucer had an influence on Scottish writers]].

===Medieval drama===
{{Main|Medieval theatre}}
In the [[Middle Ages]], drama in the vernacular languages of Europe may have emerged from religious enactments of the [[liturgy]]. [[Mystery play]]s were presented on the porches of the cathedrals or by strolling players on [[Calendar of saints|feast days]]. [[Miracle play|Miracle]] and mystery plays, along with [[Morality play|moralities]] and interludes, later evolved into more elaborate forms of drama, such as was seen on the Elizabethan stages. Another form of medieval theatre was the [[Mummers Play|mummers' plays]], a form of early street theatre associated with the [[Morris dance]], concentrating on themes such as [[Saint George]] and the [[European dragon|Dragon]] and [[Robin Hood]]. These were [[Folklore|folk tale]]s re-telling old stories, and the actors travelled from town to town performing these for their audiences in return for money and hospitality.<ref>''Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory'' J. A. Cuddon. (London: Penguin Books, 1999), p.523.</ref>

Mystery plays and miracle plays are among the early formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as [[tableau vivant|tableaux]] with accompanying [[antiphon]]al song. They developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching the height of their popularity in the 15th century before being rendered obsolete by the rise of professional theatre.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gassner|first=John|author2=Quinn, Edward|title=The Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama|publisher=Methuen|location=London|year=1969|pages=203–204|chapter=England: middle ages|oclc=249158675}}</ref>
[[File:ChesterMysteryPlay 300dpi.jpg|thumb|upright|left|19th-century engraving of a performance from the Chester mystery [[play cycle]]]]
There are four complete or nearly complete extant English biblical collections of plays from the late medieval period. The most complete is the ''[[York Mystery Plays|York cycle]]'' of forty-eight pageants. They were performed in the city of [[York]], from the middle of the 14th century until 1569.<ref>''A Glossary of Literary Terms'', M. H. Abrams. Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace, 1999, pp. 165–6.</ref> Besides the Middle English drama, there are three surviving plays in [[Cornish language|Cornish]] known as the [[Ordinalia]].<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26192/26192-h/26192-h.htm A Handbook of the Cornish Language, by Henry Jenner] A [[Project Gutenberg]] eBook;[http://www.magakernow.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=38590 A brief history of the Cornish language] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225172227/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=38590 |date=25 December 2008 }}.</ref>

Having grown out of the religiously based mystery plays, the morality play is a genre of medieval and [[Tudor period|early Tudor]] theatrical entertainment, which represented a shift towards a more secular base for European theatre.<ref>Richardson and Johnston (1991, 97–98).</ref> Morality plays are a type of [[allegory]] in which the protagonist is met by [[personification]]s of various [[morality|moral]] attributes who try to prompt him to choose a godly life over one of evil. The plays were most popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries.<ref>''Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory'', p. 523.</ref>

''The Somonyng of Everyman'' (''The Summoning of Everyman'') ({{circa|1509}} – 1519), usually referred to simply as ''[[Everyman (15th-century play)|Everyman]]'', is a late 15th-century English morality play. Like [[John Bunyan]]'s allegory ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]'' (1678), ''Everyman'' examines the question of [[Christian salvation]] through the use of allegorical characters.<ref>''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'', Vol.1 (2000), pp. 445ff and ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' (1996), p. 775.</ref>

=={{anchor|The Renaissance: 1485 -1660}}The Renaissance: 1500 –1660==
[[Renaissance]] style and ideas were slow to penetrate [[English Renaissance|England]] and [[Renaissance in Scotland|Scotland]], and the [[Elizabethan era]] (1558–1603) is usually regarded as the height of the English Renaissance. However, many scholars see its beginnings in the early 1500s during the reign of [[Henry VIII]] (1491 – 1547).<ref>[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/154826/an-introduction-to-the-english-renaissance "English Renaissance", Poetry Foundation online]</ref>

Italian literary influences arrived in Britain: the [[sonnet]] form was introduced into English by [[Thomas Wyatt (poet)|Thomas Wyatt]] in the early 16th century, and was developed by [[Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey]], (1516/1517 – 1547), who also introduced [[blank verse]] into England, with his translation of [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'' in {{circa|1540}}.<ref>J. A. Cuddon, ''The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory''. (London: Penguin Books, 1999), pp. 844–5, and p.89.</ref>

The [[Global spread of the printing press|spread of printing]] affected the transmission of literature across Britain and Ireland. The first book printed in English, [[William Caxton]]'s own translation of ''[[Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye]]'', was printed abroad in 1473, to be followed by the establishment of the first printing press in England in 1474. 
[[File:Isola di Utopia Moro.jpg|upright|thumb|right|[[Thomas More]] book ''[[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]]'', illustration of imaginary island, 1516]]

Latin continued in use as a language of learning long after the [[Reformation]] had established the vernaculars as liturgical languages for the elites.

''[[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]]'' is a work of fiction and [[political philosophy]] by [[Thomas More]] (1478–1535) published in 1516. The book, written in Latin, is a [[frame narrative]] primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, [[sociology|social]] and political customs.

==={{anchor|Elizabethan era: 1558-1603}}Elizabethan era: 1558–1603===
{{Main|Elizabethan literature|English poetry|English drama}}
[[File:William Shakespeare by John Taylor, edited.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[William Shakespeare]]'s career straddled the change of [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] and [[House of Stuart|Stuart dynasties]] and encompassed English history and the emerging imperial idea of the 17th century.]]

====Poetry====
In the later 16th century, English poetry used elaborate language and extensive allusions to classical myths. [[Edmund Spenser|Sir Edmund Spenser]] (1555–99) was the author of ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the [[Tudor dynasty]] and Elizabeth I. The works of [[Philip Sidney|Sir Philip Sidney]] (1554–1586), a poet, courtier and soldier, include ''[[Astrophel and Stella]]'', ''[[The Defence of Poetry]]'', and ''[[The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia|Arcadia]]''. Poems intended to be set to music as songs, such as those by [[Thomas Campion]], became popular as printed literature was disseminated more widely in households (see [[English Madrigal School]]).

====Drama====
During the reign of [[Elizabeth I]] (1558–1603) and then James I (1603–25), a London-centred culture that was both courtly and popular, produced great poetry and drama. The English playwrights were intrigued by Italian model: a conspicuous community of Italian actors had settled in London. The linguist and lexicographer [[John Florio]] (1553–1625), whose father was Italian, was a royal language tutor at the Court of [[James VI and I|James I]], and a possible friend and influence on [[William Shakespeare]], had brought much of the Italian language and culture to England. He was also the translator of [[Michel de Montaigne|Montaigne]] into English. The earlier Elizabethan plays include ''[[Gorboduc (play)|Gorboduc]]'' (1561), by [[Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset|Sackville]] and [[Thomas Norton|Norton]], and [[Thomas Kyd]]'s (1558–94) [[revenge tragedy]] ''[[The Spanish Tragedy]]'' (1592). Highly popular and influential in its time, ''The Spanish Tragedy'' established a new genre in English literature theatre, the [[revenge play]] or revenge tragedy. [[Jane Lumley]] (1537–1578) was the first person to translate [[Euripides]] into English. Her translation of ''[[Iphigeneia at Aulis]]'' is the first known dramatic work by a woman in English.<ref>Buck, Claire, ed. "Lumley, Joanna Fitzalan (c. 1537–1576/77)." ''The Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature''. New York: Prentice Hall, 1992. 764.</ref>

[[William Shakespeare]] (1564–1616) stands out in this period as a poet and playwright as yet unsurpassed. Shakespeare wrote plays in a variety of genres, including [[Shakespearean history|histories]], [[Shakespearean tragedy|tragedies]], [[Shakespearean comedies|comedies]] and the late [[William Shakespeare's late romances|romances]], or tragicomedies. Works written in the Elizabethan era include the comedy ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', tragedy ''[[Hamlet]]'', and history ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]''.

==={{anchor|Jacobean period: 1558-1603}} Jacobean period: 1603-1625===
====Drama====
Shakespeare's career continued during the reign of King James I, and in the early 17th century, he wrote the so-called "[[Shakespearean problem play|problem plays]]", like ''[[Measure for Measure]]'' as well as a number of his better-known [[Shakespearean tragedy|tragedies]], including ''[[King Lear]]'' and ''[[Anthony and Cleopatra]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bradley|1991|loc=85}}; {{Harvnb|Muir|2005|loc=12–16}}.</ref> The plots of Shakespeare's tragedies often hinge on fatal errors or flaws, which overturn order and destroy the hero and those he loves.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bradley|1991|loc=40, 48}}.</ref> In his final period, Shakespeare turned to [[Shakespeare's late romances|romance]] or [[tragicomedy]] and completed four major plays, including ''[[The Tempest]]''. Less bleak than the tragedies, these four plays are graver in tone than the comedies of the 1590s, but they end with reconciliation and the forgiveness of potentially tragic errors.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dowden|1881|loc=57}}.</ref>

Other important figures in Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre include [[Christopher Marlowe]] (1564–1593), [[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]] ({{circa|1572}} – 1632), [[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]] (1579–1625) and [[Francis Beaumont]] (1584–1616). Marlowe's subject matter is different from Shakespeare's as it focuses more on the moral drama of the [[Polymath|renaissance man]]. His play [[Doctor Faustus (play)|Doctor Faustus]] ({{circa|1592}}), is about a scientist and magician who sells his soul to the Devil. [[Beaumont and Fletcher]] are less known, but they may have helped Shakespeare write some of his better dramas, and were popular at the time. Beaumont's comedy, ''[[The Knight of the Burning Pestle]]'' (1607), satirises the rising middle class and especially the ''nouveaux riches''.

After Shakespeare's death, the poet and dramatist [[Ben Jonson]] (1572–1637) was the leading literary figure of the Jacobean era. Jonson's aesthetics hark back to the Middle Ages and his characters embody the [[Humours|theory of humours]], based on contemporary medical theory, though the stock types of [[Latin literature]] were an equal influence.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ben-Jonson-English-writer "Ben Jonson."] ''Encyclopaedia Britannica''. 9 October 2024.</ref> Jonson's major plays include ''[[Volpone]]'' (1605 or 1606) and ''[[Bartholomew Fair]]'' (1614).

A popular style of theatre in Jacobean times was the [[revenge play]], which had been popularised earlier by [[Thomas Kyd]] (1558–94), and then developed by [[John Webster]] (1578–1632) in the 17th century. Webster's famous plays are ''[[The White Devil]]'' (1612) and ''[[The Duchess of Malfi]]'' (1613). Other revenge tragedies include ''[[The Changeling (play)|The Changeling]]'' written by [[Thomas Middleton]] and [[William Rowley]].

====Poetry====
Shakespeare also popularised the [[English sonnet]], which made significant changes to [[Petrarch]]'s model. A collection of 154 [[Shakespeare's sonnets|sonnets]], dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality, were first published in a 1609 quarto.

[[File:Somer Francis Bacon.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=Engraved head-and-shoulders portrait of Francis Bacon wearing a hat and ruff |[[Francis Bacon]]]]
Besides Shakespeare, the major poets of the early 17th century included the [[metaphysical poet]]s [[John Donne]] (1572–1631) and [[George Herbert]] (1593–1633). Influenced by continental [[Baroque]], and taking as his subject matter both Christian mysticism and eroticism, Donne's metaphysical poetry uses unconventional or "unpoetic" figures, such as a compass or a mosquito, to achieve surprise effects.

[[George Chapman]] (?1559-?1634) was a successful playwright who is remembered chiefly for his translation in 1616 of [[Homer]]'s [[Iliad]] and [[Odyssey]] into English verse. This was the first complete translation of either poem into the English language, and it had a profound influence on English literature.

====Prose====
Philosopher [[Sir Francis Bacon]] (1561–1626) wrote the [[utopian novel]] ''[[New Atlantis]]'', and coined the phrase "''[[Knowledge Is Power]]''". [[Francis Godwin]]'s 1638 ''[[The Man in the Moone]]'' recounts an imaginary voyage to the moon and is now regarded as the [[History of science fiction|first work of science fiction]] in English literature.<ref>{{cite news|author=Stephen Bates |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/24/science-fiction-exhibition-british-library?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 |title=Ride a goose to the moon: the British Library's SF odyssey |newspaper=The Guardian |date=1 January 2013 |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref>

At the [[Reformation]], the translation of [[liturgy]] and the Bible into vernacular languages provided new literary models. The ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'' (1549) and the ''[[Authorised King James Version]]'' of the Bible have been hugely influential. The King James Bible, one of the great translation projects in the history of English up to that time, was started in 1604 and completed in 1611. It continued the tradition of [[English translations of the Bible|Bible translation into English]] from the original languages that began with the work of [[William Tyndale]]. (Previous translations into English had relied on the [[Vulgate]]). It became the standard Bible of the [[Church of England]], and some consider it one of the great literary works of all time.

===Late Renaissance: 1625–1660===
{{Main|Caroline era}}
[[File:Samuel Pepys.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Samuel Pepys]], took the [[diary]] beyond mere business transaction notes, into the realm of the personal.]]

The [[metaphysical poets]] continued writing in this period. Both John Donne and George Herbert died after 1625, but there was a second generation of metaphysical poets: [[Andrew Marvell]] (1621–1678), [[Thomas Traherne]] (1636 or 1637–1674) and [[Henry Vaughan]] (1622–1695). Their style was witty, with metaphysical [[conceit]]s – far-fetched or unusual [[simile]]s or [[metaphors]], such as Marvell's comparison of the soul with a drop of dew;<ref>"On a Drop of Dew", [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177949 Poetry Foundation]</ref> or Donne's description of the effects of absence on lovers to the action of a pair of compasses.<ref>"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173387 Poetry Foundation]</ref>

Another important group of poets at this time were the [[Cavalier poet]]s. They were an important group of writers, who came from the classes that supported King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] during the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] (1639–51). (King Charles reigned from 1625 and was executed in 1649). The best known of these poets are [[Robert Herrick (poet)|Robert Herrick]], [[Richard Lovelace (poet)|Richard Lovelace]], [[Thomas Carew]], and [[John Suckling (poet)|Sir John Suckling]]. They "were not a formal group, but all were influenced" by [[Ben Jonson]].<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed. Margaret Drabble, p. 181.</ref> Most of the Cavalier poets were [[courtier]]s, with notable exceptions. For example, Robert Herrick was not a courtier, but his style marks him as a Cavalier poet. Cavalier works make use of allegory and classical allusions, and they are influenced by Latin authors [[Horace]], [[Cicero]], and [[Ovid]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Clayton|first=Thomas|title=The Cavalier Mode from Jonson to Cotton by Earl Miner|journal=Renaissance Quarterly|date=Spring 1974|volume=27|issue=1|page=111|jstor=2859327|doi=10.2307/2859327|s2cid=199289537 }}</ref>

[[File:John Milton - Project Gutenberg eText 13619.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John Milton]]. His religious [[epic poem]] ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' was published in 1667.]]
[[John Milton]] (1608–74) is one of the great English poets, who wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval. He is generally seen as the last major poet of the English Renaissance, though his major epic poems were written in the Restoration period, including ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (1671). Among these are ''[[L'Allegro]]'', 1631; ''[[Il Penseroso]]'', 1634; ''[[Comus]]'' (a masque), 1638; and ''[[Lycidas]]'', (1638). His later major works are ''[[Paradise Regained]]'', 1671 and ''[[Samson Agonistes]]'', 1671. Milton's works reflect deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. Writing in English, Latin, and Italian, he achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated ''[[Areopagitica]]'' (1644), written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship, is among history's influential and impassioned defences of [[free speech]] and [[freedom of the press]]. [[William Hayley]]'s 1796 biography called him the "greatest English author",<ref>McCalman 2001 p. 605.</ref> and he remains generally regarded "as one of the preeminent writers in the English language".<ref>''Contemporary Literary Criticism'', [http://www.enotes.com/literary-criticism/milton-john "Milton, John – Introduction"]</ref>

[[Thomas Urquhart]] (1611–1660) translation of [[François Rabelais|Rabelais]]' ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'' into English has been described as "the greatest Scottish translation since Gavin Douglas's ''Eneados''".<ref name=ScotlandsBooks>{{cite book |last=Crawford |first=Robert |title=Scotland's Books |year=2007 |publisher=Penguin |location=London|isbn=9780140299403}}</ref>

=={{anchor|The Restoration:1660-1698}}The Restoration: 1660–1700==
{{Main|Restoration literature}}

===Drama===
{{Main|Restoration comedy}}

The [[Restoration (1660)|Restoration of the monarchy in 1660]] launched a fresh start for literature, both in celebration of the new worldly and playful court of the king, and in reaction to it. Theatres in England reopened after having been closed during the protectorship of [[Oliver Cromwell]], [[Puritan]]ism lost its momentum, and the bawdy "[[Restoration comedy]]" became a recognisable genre. Restoration comedy refers to English [[Comedy (drama)|comedies]] written and performed in the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] period from 1660 to 1710.<ref name="George Henry Nettleton p. 149">George Henry Nettleton, Arthur, ''British dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan'' p. 149.</ref> In addition, women were allowed to perform on stage for the first time.

The [[Restoration (Ireland)|Restoration of the monarchy in Ireland]] enabled Ogilby to resume his position as Master of the Revels and open the first [[Theatre Royal, Dublin|Theatre Royal in Dublin]] in 1662 in Smock Alley. In 1662, [[Katherine Philips]] went to Dublin, where she completed a translation of [[Pierre Corneille]]'s ''[[The Death of Pompey|Pompée]]'', produced with great success in 1663 in the Smock Alley Theatre, and printed in the same year both in Dublin and London. Although other women had translated or written dramas, her translation of Pompey broke new ground as the first rhymed version of a French tragedy in English and the first English play written by a woman to be performed on the professional stage. [[Aphra Behn]] (one of the women writers dubbed "[[The fair triumvirate of wit]]") was a prolific dramatist and one of the early English professional female writers. Her greatest dramatic success was ''[[The Rover (play)|The Rover]]'' (1677).

===Poetry===
[[File:Aphra Behn by Peter Lely ca. 1670.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Aphra Behn]]]]
Behn's depiction of the character Willmore in ''The Rover'' and the witty, poetry-reciting rake Dorimant in [[George Etherege]]'s ''[[The Man of Mode]]'' (1676) are seen as a satire on [[John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester]] (1647–1680), an English [[libertine]] poet, and a wit of the Restoration court. His contemporary [[Andrew Marvell]] described him as "the best English satirist", and he is generally considered to be the most considerable poet and the most learned among the Restoration wits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cerisia.cerosia.org/articles/251/Longman%20Anthology%20Instructors%20Manual/Restoration/76-JohnWilmot_IM.pdf|title=Cerisia Cerosia|access-date=26 January 2013|archive-date=29 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729105402/http://cerisia.cerosia.org/articles/251/Longman%20Anthology%20Instructors%20Manual/Restoration/76-JohnWilmot_IM.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> His ''[[A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind]]'' is assumed to be a [[Hobbesian]] critique of [[rationalism]].<ref name=Fisher>{{cite web|last=Fisher|first=Nicholas|title=The Contemporary Reception of Rochester's A Satyr against Mankind|url=http://res.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/229/185.full.pdf+html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801091310/http://res.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/229/185.full.pdf+html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-08-01|publisher=[[The Review of English Studies]] (April 2006) 57 (229): 185–220. }}</ref> Rochester's poetic work varies widely in form, genre, and content. He was part of a "mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease",<ref>Alexander Pope, "First Epistle of the Second Book of Horace", line 108.</ref> who continued to produce their poetry in manuscripts, rather than in publication. As a consequence, some of Rochester's work deals with topical concerns, such as satires of courtly affairs in [[Libel (poetry)|libels]], to [[parodies]] of the styles of his contemporaries, such as [[Sir Charles Scroope]]. He is also notable for his impromptus,<ref>Rochester composed at least 10 versions of Impromptus on Charles II [http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/rochester/wilmotbib.htm luminarium.org]</ref> [[Voltaire]], who spoke of Rochester as "the man of genius, the great poet", admired his satire for its "energy and fire" and translated some lines into French to "display the shining imagination his lordship only could boast".<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/34/2/21.html/ Great Books Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510204040/http://www.bartleby.com/34/2/21.html |date=10 May 2007 }}, François Marie Arouet de Voltaire (1694–1778). "Letter XXI—On the Earl of Rochester and Mr. Waller" ''Letters on the English.'' The Harvard Classics. 1909–14, Bartleby.com, Accessed 15 May 2007</ref>

[[John Dryden]] (1631–1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. He established the [[heroic couplet]] as a standard form of English poetry by writing successful satires, religious pieces, fables, epigrams, compliments, prologues, and plays with it; he also introduced the [[alexandrine]] and triplet into the form. In his poems, translations, and criticism, he established a poetic diction appropriate to the heroic couplet. Dryden's great achievements were in satiric verse in works like the mock-heroic ''[[MacFlecknoe]]'' (1682). [[W. H. Auden]] referred to him as "the master of the middle style" that was a model for his contemporaries and for much of the 18th century.<ref>W. H. Auden, ''New Year Letter'', in Collected Poems</ref> The considerable loss felt by the English literary community at his death was evident from the elegies that it inspired.<ref>John Dryden, ''Major Works'', ed. by Keith Walker, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987), p.37.</ref> Alexander Pope (1688–1744) was heavily influenced by Dryden, and often borrowed from him; other writers in the 18th century were equally influenced by both Dryden and Pope.

Though Ben Jonson had been poet laureate to James I in England, this was not then a formal position and the formal title of [[Poet Laureate]], as a royal office, was first conferred by letters patent on John Dryden in 1670. The post then became a regular British institution.

===Prose===
[[Diarist]]s [[John Evelyn]] (1620–1706) and [[Samuel Pepys]] (1633–1703) depicted everyday London life and the cultural scene of the times. Their works are among the more important [[primary source]]s for the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration period in England]], and consists of [[witness|eyewitness]] accounts of many great events, such as the [[Great Plague of London]] (1644–5), and the [[Great Fire of London]] (1666).

The publication of ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]'' (Part I:1678; 1684), established the [[Puritan]] preacher [[John Bunyan]] (1628–88) as a notable writer. Bunyan's ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]'' is an [[allegory]] of personal salvation and a guide to the Christian life. Bunyan writes about how the individual can prevail against the temptations of mind and body that threaten damnation. The book is written in a straightforward narrative and shows influence from both drama and biography, and yet it also shows an awareness of the grand allegorical tradition found in [[Edmund Spenser]].

==18th century==
==={{anchor|The Augustan age: 1701-1750}}The Augustan age: 1701–1750===
{{Main|Augustan literature|Augustan prose}}
The late 17th, early 18th century (1689–1750) in English literature is known as the Augustan Age. Writers at this time "greatly admired their Roman counterparts, imitated their works and frequently drew parallels between" contemporary world and the age of the Roman emperor Augustus (27 AD – BC 14)<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed. Margaret Drabble. (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1996), p.52.</ref> (see [[Augustan literature (ancient Rome)]] ). Some of the major writers in this period were the [[Anglo-Irish people|Anglo-Irish]] writer [[Jonathan Swift]] (1667–1745), [[William Congreve]], (1670–1729), [[Joseph Addison]] (1672–1719), [[Richard Steele]] (1672–1729), [[Alexander Pope]] (1688–1744), [[Henry Fielding]] (1707–54), [[Samuel Johnson]] (1709–84).

====1707: Birth of Britain====
[[File:Tobias Smollett c 1770.jpg|upright|thumb|Portrait of [[Tobias Smollett]]]]
The Union of the Parliaments of Scotland and England in 1707 to form a single [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] and the creation of a joint state by the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] had little impact on the literature of England nor on national consciousness among English writers. The situation in Scotland was different: the desire to maintain a cultural identity while partaking of the advantages offered by the English literary market and English literary standard language led to what has been described as the "invention of British literature" by Scottish writers. English writers, if they considered Britain at all, tended to assume it was merely England writ large; Scottish writers were more clearly aware of the new state as a "cultural amalgam comprising more than just England".<ref name=Crawford>{{cite book|last=Crawford|first=Robert|title=Devolving English Literature|year=1992|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0198119550}}</ref> [[James Thomson (poet, born 1700)|James Thomson]]'s "[[Rule Britannia]]!" is an example of the Scottish championing of this new national and literary identity. With the invention of British literature came the development of the early British novels, in contrast to the English novel of the 18th century which continued to deal with England and English concerns rather than exploring the changed political, social and literary environment.<ref name=Crawford /> [[Tobias Smollett]] (1721–71) was a Scottish pioneer of the British novel, exploring the prejudices inherent within the new social structure of the country through comic [[picaresque novel]]s. His ''[[The Adventures of Roderick Random]]'' (1748) is the first major novel written in English to have a Scotsman as hero,<ref name=Crawford /> and the multinational voices represented in the narrative confront [[Anti-Scottish sentiment]], being published only two years after the [[Battle of Culloden]]. ''[[The Expedition of Humphry Clinker]]'' (1771) brings together characters from the extremes of Britain to question how cultural and linguistic differences can be accommodated within the new British identity, and influenced [[Charles Dickens]].<ref>{{citation|title= British Literature 1640–1789: An Anthology|author= Robert DeMaria|year= 2001|publisher= Blackwell Publishing|isbn= 0-631-21769-X|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/britishliteratur0000unse}}</ref> [[Richard Cumberland (dramatist)|Richard Cumberland]] wrote patriotic comedies depicting characters taken from the "outskirts of the empire,".<ref name=EB11>"Richard Cumberland", [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]</ref> His most popular play "''[[The West Indian]]''" (1771) was performed in North America and the [[West Indies]].

====Prose, including the novel====
{{Main|Augustan prose}}
In prose, the earlier part of the period was overshadowed by the development of the English essay. [[Joseph Addison]] and [[Richard Steele]]'s ''[[The Spectator (1711)|The Spectator]]'' established the form of the British periodical essay, inventing the pose of the detached observer of human life who can meditate upon the world without advocating any specific changes in it. However, this was also the time when the English novel, first emerging in the Restoration, developed into a major art form. [[Daniel Defoe]] turned from journalism and writing criminal lives for the press to writing fictional criminal lives with ''[[Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress|Roxana]]'' and ''[[Moll Flanders]].''
[[File:Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday Offterdinger.jpg|upright|thumb|right|[[Daniel Defoe]]'s 1719 castaway novel ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'', with Crusoe standing over [[Man Friday]] after freeing him from the cannibals]]
The English novel has generally been seen as beginning with [[Daniel Defoe]]'s ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'' (1719) and ''[[Moll Flanders]]'' (1722),<ref>"Defoe", ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed. Margaret Drabble. (Oxford: Oxforsd University Press,1996), p.265.</ref> though John Bunyan's ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]'' (1678) and [[Aphra Behn]]'s, ''[[Oroonoko]]'' (1688) are also contenders.<ref>J. A. Cuddon, ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms''. (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books,1984), pp. 433, 434.</ref> Other major 18th-century British novelists are [[Samuel Richardson]] (1689–1761), author of the [[epistolary novel]]s ''[[Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded]]'' (1740) and ''[[Clarissa]]'' (1747–48); [[Henry Fielding]] (1707–54), who wrote ''[[Joseph Andrews]]'' (1742) and ''[[The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling]]'' (1749).

If Addison and Steele were dominant in one type of prose, then [[Jonathan Swift]] author of the satire ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' was in another. In ''[[A Modest Proposal]]'' and the ''Drapier Letters'', Swift reluctantly defended the Irish people from the predations of [[colonialism]]. This position provoked riots and arrests, but Swift, who had no love of Irish Roman Catholics, was outraged by the abuses he saw.<ref name="Ousby, I. 1993">Ousby, I. et al. (1993). ''The Cambridge guide to literature in English''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

The English pictorial [[satire|satirist]] and editorial [[cartoonist]] [[William Hogarth]] (1697–1764) has been credited with pioneering Western [[sequential art]]. His work ranged from [[Realism (arts)|realistic]] portraiture to [[comic strip]]-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects". Much of his work satirises contemporary politics and customs.<ref>[http://www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/invt/brimus068?stylecat=art_prints The British Museum. Beer Street, William Hogarth – Fine Art Print] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303011009/http://www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/invt/brimus068?stylecat=art_prints |date=3 March 2010 }}. Retrieved 12 April 2010.</ref>

====Drama====
{{See also|Restoration Comedy}}

Although documented history of [[Irish theatre]] began at least as early as 1601, the early Irish dramatists of note were [[William Congreve]] (1670–1729), one of the more interesting writers of [[Restoration comedy|Restoration comedies]] and author of ''[[The Way of the World]]'' (1700) and playwright, [[George Farquhar]] (?1677–1707), ''[[The Recruiting Officer]]'' (1706). (Restoration comedy refers to English [[Comedy (drama)|comedies]] written and performed in the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] period from 1660 to 1710. [[Comedy of manners]] is used as a synonym of Restoration comedy).<ref name="George Henry Nettleton p. 149"/>

[[Anglo-Irish]] drama in the 18th century also includes [[Charles Macklin]] (?1699–1797), and [[Arthur Murphy (writer)|Arthur Murphy]] (1727–1805).<ref name=Deane />

The age of [[Augustan drama]] was brought to an end by the censorship established by the [[Licensing Act 1737]]. After 1737, authors with strong political or philosophical points to make would no longer turn to the stage as their first hope of making a living, and novels began to have dramatic structures involving only normal human beings, as the stage was closed off for serious authors. Prior to the Licensing Act 1737, theatre was the first choice for most wits. After it, the novel was<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/the-rise-of-the-novel|title=The rise of the novel|website=The British Library|access-date=2018-09-21}}</ref>

====Poetry====
{{Main|Augustan poetry}}
[[File:Alexander Pope by Michael Dahl.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Pope]]
The most outstanding poet of the age is [[Alexander Pope]] (1688–1744), whose major works include: ''[[The Rape of the Lock]]'' (1712; enlarged in 1714); a translation of the ''[[Iliad]]'' (1715–20); a translation of the ''[[Odyssey]]'' (1725–26); ''[[The Dunciad]]'' (1728; 1743). Since his death, Pope has been in a constant state of re-evaluation. His high artifice, strict prosody, and, at times, the sheer cruelty of his satire were an object of derision for the [[Romantic poets]], and it was not until the 1930s that his reputation was revived. Pope is now considered the dominant poetic voice of his century, a model of prosodic elegance, biting wit, and an enduring, demanding moral force.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.poets.org/apope/ |title=Alexander Pope |publisher=Poets.org |access-date=6 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140128102619/http://www.poets.org/apope/ |archive-date=28 January 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ''[[Rape of the Lock]]'' and ''[[The Dunciad]]'' are masterpieces of the [[mock-epic]] genre.<ref>J. A. Cuddon, ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms''. (London: Penguin, 1999), p.514.</ref>

It was during this time that poet [[James Thomson (poet, born 1700)|James Thomson]] (1700–48) produced his melancholy ''[[The Seasons (Thomson poem)|The Seasons]]'' (1728–30) and [[Edward Young]] (1681–1765) wrote his poem ''[[Night-Thoughts]]'' (1742).

==={{anchor|The roots of Romanticism: 1750-1798}}The roots of Romanticism: 1750–1798===
[[File:Robert Burns 1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robert Burns]] inspired many vernacular writers across Britain and Ireland.]]
The second half of the 18th century is sometimes called the "Age of Johnson". [[Samuel Johnson]] (1709–1784), often referred to as Dr Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and [[lexicographer]]. Johnson has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history".<ref>{{cite ODNB|last=Rogers|first=Pat|contribution=Johnson, Samuel (1709–1784)|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|year=2006|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/14918|edition=online|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14918|access-date=25 August 2008}}</ref> After nine years of work, Johnson's ''[[A Dictionary of the English Language]]'' was published in 1755; it had a far-reaching effect on [[Modern English]] and has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship.".<ref name="Bate240">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=240}}</ref> Through works such as the "Dictionary, his edition of Shakespeare, and his ''Lives of the Poets'' in particular, he helped invent what we now call English Literature".<ref name="britannica1">[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/305432/Samuel-Johnson "Samuel Johnson."] Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 Nov 2012.</ref>

This period of the 18th century saw the emergence of three major Irish authors [[Oliver Goldsmith]] (1728–1774), [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]] (1751–1816), and [[Laurence Sterne]] (1713–1768). Goldsmith settled in London in 1756, where he published the novel ''[[The Vicar of Wakefield]]'' (1766), a pastoral poem with the title ''[[The Deserted Village]]'' (1770) and two plays: ''The Good-Natur'd Man'' and ''[[She Stoops to Conquer]]''. Sheridan was born in Dublin, but his family moved to England in the 1750s. His first play ''[[The Rivals]]'' was performed at [[Covent Garden]], and it was an instant success. He became the most significant London playwright of the late 18th century with plays like ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' and ''The Critic''. Sterne published his famous novel ''[[Tristram Shandy]]'' in parts from 1759 to 1767.<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p.947.</ref>

The [[sentimental novel]] or the novel of sensibility is a genre which developed during the second half of the 18th century.<ref>Richard Maxwell and Katie Trumpener, eds., ''The Cambridge Companion to Fiction in the Romantic Period'' (2008).</ref> Among the famous sentimental novels in English are [[Samuel Richardson]]'s ''[[Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded]]'' (1740), [[Oliver Goldsmith]]'s ''[[The Vicar of Wakefield]]'' (1766), and [[Laurence Sterne]]'s ''[[Tristram Shandy]]'' (1759–1767).<ref>J. A. Cuddon, ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms'' (1999), p. 809.</ref>

Another novel genre also developed in this period. In 1778, [[Frances Burney]] (1752–1840) wrote ''[[Evelina]]'', one of the ear;y [[novel of manners|novels of manners]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/85638/Fanny-Burney "Fanny Burney."] Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 Jun 2013.</ref> Fanny Burney's novels indeed "were enjoyed and admired by [[Jane Austen]]".<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed Margaret Drabble. (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1996), p. 151.</ref>

The [[graveyard poets]] were a number of pre-Romantic English poets, writing in the 1740s and later, whose works are characterised by their gloomy meditations on mortality, "skulls and coffins, epitaphs and worms" in the context of the graveyard.<ref>Line 23 of "The Grave" by [[Robert Blair (poet)|Robert Blair]].</ref> To this was added, by later practitioners, a feeling for the [[Sublime (philosophy)|'sublime']] and uncanny, and an interest in ancient English poetic forms and folk poetry.<ref>William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman, ''A Handbook to Literature''. (Uper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1986), pp. 452–3, 502.</ref> They are often considered precursors of the Gothic genre.<ref>''A Handbook to Literature'', p. 238.</ref> The poets include; [[Thomas Gray]] (1716–71), ''[[Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard]]'' (1751);<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' (1996), p. 418.</ref> [[William Cowper]] (1731–1800); [[Christopher Smart]] (1722–71); [[Thomas Chatterton]] (1752–70); [[Robert Blair (poet)|Robert Blair]] (1699–1746);<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p. 107.</ref> and [[Edward Young]] (1683–1765), ''The Complaint, or [[Night Thoughts]] on Life, Death and Immortality'' (1742–45).<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p. 1106.</ref>

Other precursors of Romanticism are the poets [[James Thomson (poet, born 1700)|James Thomson]] (1700–48) and [[James Macpherson]] (1736–96), the [[Gothic novel]] and the [[novel of sensibility]].<ref>J. A. Cuddon, ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms'', p. 588; [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/474262/Pre-Romanticis "Pre-Romanticism."] Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 October 2012.</ref>

Also foreshadowing Romanticism was [[Gothic fiction]], in works such as [[Horace Walpole]]'s 1764 novel ''[[The Castle of Otranto]]''. The Gothic fiction genre combines elements of [[Horror fiction|horror]] and [[Romance novel|romance]]. A pioneering Gothic novelist was [[Ann Radcliffe]] author of ''[[The Mysteries of Udolpho]]'' (1794). ''[[The Monk]]'' (1796), by [[Matthew Lewis (writer)|Matthew Lewis]], is another notable early work in both the Gothic and horror genres.

[[James Macpherson]] (1736–96) was the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation. Claiming to have found poetry written by the ancient bard [[Ossian]], he published translations that acquired international popularity, being proclaimed as a Celtic equivalent of the [[Classical antiquity|Classical]] [[Epic poetry|epics]]. Both [[Robert Burns]] (1759–96) and [[Walter Scott]] (1771–1832) were highly influenced by the Ossian cycle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/fragments-of-ossian-an-invented-early-scots-epic-poem|title=Fragments of Ossian, an invented early Scots epic poem|website=The British Library|access-date=2018-09-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Manning|first=Susan|date=Winter 1982|title=Ossian, Scott, and Nineteenth-Century Scottish Literary Nationalism|url=https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1089&context=ssl|journal=Studies in Scottish Literature|volume=17|pages=44}}</ref>

[[Robert Burns]] (1759–1796) was a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death, he became a cultural icon in Scotland. Among poems and songs of Burns that remain well known across the world are "Auld Lang Syne"; "[[A Red, Red Rose]]"; "[[A Man's A Man for A' That]]"; "[[To a Mouse]]"; "[[Tam o' Shanter (poem)|Tam o' Shanter]]" and "[[Ae Fond Kiss (song)|Ae Fond Kiss]]".

=={{anchor|Romanticism: 1798-1837}}Romanticism: 1798–1837==
{{Main|Romanticism#English literature|Romantic literature in English|Romanticism in Scotland}}
[[File:Tyger.jpg|upright|thumb|right|[[William Blake]]'s "[[The Tyger]]", published in his ''[[Songs of Innocence and of Experience]]'', is a work of Romanticism.]]

[[Romanticism]] was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century. Various dates are given for the Romantic period in British literature, but here the publishing of ''[[Lyrical Ballads]]'' in 1798 is taken as the beginning, and the crowning of [[Queen Victoria]] in 1837 as its end, even though, for example, William Wordsworth lived until 1850 and [[William Blake]] published before 1798. The writers of this period, however, "did not think of themselves as 'Romantics'", and the term was first used by critics of the Victorian period.<ref>''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'', 7th edition, vol.2, p.5.</ref>

The Romantic period was one of major social change in England, because of the depopulation of the countryside and the rapid development of overcrowded industrial cities, that took place in the period roughly from 1785 to 1830. The movement of so many people in England was the result of two forces: the [[British Agricultural Revolution|Agricultural Revolution]], that involved the [[enclosure]] of the land, drove workers off the land, and the [[Industrial Revolution]] which provided them employment, "in the factories and mills, operated by machines driven by [[steam-power]]".<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'', p.21.</ref> Indeed, Romanticism may be seen in part as a reaction to the [[Industrial Revolution]],<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica. "Romanticism". Retrieved 30 January 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Britannica.com. Retrieved 24 August 2010.</ref> though it was also a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of the [[Age of Enlightenment]], as well a reaction against the scientific [[rationalization (sociology)|rationalisation]] of nature.<ref>Christopher Casey, (30 October 2008). ""Grecian Grandeurs and the Rude Wasting of Old Time": Britain, the Elgin Marbles, and Post-Revolutionary Hellenism". ''Foundations''. Volume III, Number 1. Retrieved 25 June 2009.</ref> The [[French Revolution]] was an especially important influence on the political thinking of many of the Romantic poets.<ref>''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'', vol.2 (2000), p.2.</ref>

The landscape is often prominent in the poetry of this period, so that the Romantics, especially perhaps Wordsworth, are often described as 'nature poets'. However, the longer Romantic 'nature poems' have a wider concern because they are usually meditations on "an emotional problem or personal crisis".<ref>''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'', vol.2 (2000), p.9</ref>

===Romantic poetry===
[[File:William Blake by Thomas Phillips.jpg|upright|thumb|left|[[William Blake]] is considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the [[Romanticism|Romantic Age]].]]
The poet, painter, and printmaker [[William Blake]] (1757–1827) was one of the early of the English Romantic poets. Largely disconnected from the major streams of the literature of the time, Blake was generally unrecognised during his lifetime, but is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the [[Romanticism|Romantic Age]]. Among his important works are ''[[Songs of Innocence]]'' (1789) and ''[[Songs of Experience]]'' (1794) "and profound and difficult 'prophecies'" such as ''[[Visions of the Daughters of Albion]]'' (1793), ''[[The First Book of Urizen]]'' (1794), and "Jerusalem: the Emanation of the Giant Albion" (1804–?20).<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/68793/William-Blake "William Blake."] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2 Oct 2012.</ref>

After Blake, among the early Romantics were the [[Lake Poets]], a small group of friends, including [[William Wordsworth]] (1770–1850), [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] (1772–1834), [[Robert Southey]] (1774–1843) and journalist [[Thomas De Quincey]] (1785–1859). However, at the time, [[Walter Scott]] (1771–1832) was the most famous poet. Scott achieved immediate success with his long narrative poem ''[[The Lay of the Last Minstrel]]'' in 1805, followed by the full [[epic poem]] ''[[Marmion (poem)|Marmion]]'' in 1808. Both were set in the distant Scottish past.<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'', p.885.</ref>

The early [[romantic poetry|Romantic Poets]] brought a new emotionalism and introspection, and their emergence is marked by the first romantic manifesto in English literature, the "Preface" to ''[[Lyrical Ballads]]'' (1798). The poems in ''[[Lyrical Ballads]]'' were mostly by Wordsworth, but Coleridge contributed the long "[[Rime of the Ancient Mariner]]".<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p.215.</ref> Among Wordsworth's important poems, are "[[Michael (poem)|Michael]]", "[[Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey]]", "[[Resolution and Independence]]", "[[Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood]]" and the autobiographical epic ''[[The Prelude]]''.

[[Robert Southey]] (1774–1843) was another of the so-called "[[Lake Poets]]", and [[Poet Laureate]] for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843. Although his fame has been eclipsed by that of his contemporaries and friends [[William Wordsworth]] and [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]. [[Thomas De Quincey]] (1785–1859) was an English essayist, best known for his ''[[Confessions of an English Opium-Eater]]'' (1821),<ref>Horace Ainsworth Eaton, ''Thomas De Quincey: A Biography'', New York, Oxford University Press, 1936; reprinted New York, Octagon Books, 1972; [[Grevel Lindop]], ''The Opium-Eater: A Life of Thomas De Quincey'', London, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1981.</ref> an autobiographical account of his [[laudanum]] and its effect on his life.

====Second generation====
[[File:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Rothwell.tif|right|thumb|upright|[[Mary Shelley]]]]
The second generation of Romantic poets includes [[Lord Byron]] (1788–1824), [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] (1792–1822) and [[John Keats]] (1795–1821). Byron, however, was still influenced by 18th-century satirists and was, perhaps, the least "romantic" of the three, preferring "the brilliant wit of [[Alexander Pope|Pope]] to what he called the 'wrong poetical system' of his Romantic contemporaries".<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'', p.379.</ref>

Though John Keats shared Byron and Shelley's radical politics, "his best poetry is not political".<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'', p.248,</ref> but is especially noted for its sensuous music and imagery, along with a concern with material beauty and the transience of life.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/314020/John-Keats "John Keats."] Encyclopædia Britannica. 12 May. 2013.; ''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'', pp. 649–50.</ref> Among his famous works are: "[[The Eve of St Agnes]]", "[[La Belle Dame sans Merci]]", "[[Ode to a Nightingale]]", "[[To Autumn]]".<ref>''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'', p824.</ref>

Percy Shelley, known to contemporaries for his radical politics and association with figures such as Byron and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, daughter of radical thinkers William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, was the third major romantic poet of the second generation. Generally regarded as among the great lyric poets in the English language, Shelley is perhaps best known for poems such as ''[[Ozymandias]]'', ''[[Ode to the West Wind]]'', ''[[To a Skylark]]'' and ''[[Adonaïs]]'', an elegy written on the death of Keats.<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'' (1990), p.904.</ref> [[Mary Shelley]] (1797–1851) is remembered as the author of ''[[Frankenstein]]'' (1818), an important [[Gothic novel]], as well as being an early example of science fiction.<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' (1996), p. 886.</ref>

Although sticking to its forms, [[Felicia Hemans]] began a process of undermining the Romantic tradition, a deconstruction that was continued by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]], as "an urban poet deeply attentive to themes of decay and decomposition".<ref name="ReferenceA">The Encyclopaedia of Romantic Literature, edited by Frederick Burwick, Nancy Goslee and Diane Hoeveler</ref> Landon's novel forms of metrical romance and [[dramatic monologue]] were much copied and contributed to her long-lasting influence on Victorian poetry.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

====Other poets====
Another important poet in this period was [[John Clare]] (1793–1864). Clare was the son of a farm labourer, who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation for the changes taking place in rural England.<ref>Geoffrey Summerfield, in introduction to ''John Clare: Selected Poems'', Penguin Books 1990, pp 13–22. {{ISBN|0-14-043724-X}}</ref>

[[George Crabbe]] (1754–1832) was an English poet who, during the Romantic period, wrote "closely observed, realistic portraits of rural life...in the [[heroic couplet]]s of the [[Augustan poetry|Augustan age]]".<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' (1996), p.239.</ref> Crabbe's works include ''[[The Village (poem)|The Village]]'' (1783), ''Poems'' (1807), ''[[The Borough (George Crabbe (poem)|The Borough]]'' (1810).

===Romanticism and the novel===
[[File:Sir Henry Raeburn - Portrait of Sir Walter Scott.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Sir Walter Scott]], 1822]]
[[File:JaneAusten-1870-cropped.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Jane Austen]]]]
Major novelists in this period were [[Jane Austen]] (1775–1817) and the Scotsman [[Sir Walter Scott]] (1771–1832), and [[Gothic fiction]] of various kinds also flourished. Austen's works satirise the [[sentimental novel|novels of sensibility]] of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century realism.<ref>Litz, pp. 3–14; Grundy, "Jane Austen and Literary Traditions", ''The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen'', pp. 192–193; Waldron, "Critical Responses, Early", ''Jane Austen in Context'', p. 83, 89–90; Duffy, "Criticism, 1814–1870", ''The Jane Austen Companion'', pp. 93–94.</ref> Austen's works include ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'' (1813) ''[[Sense and Sensibility]]'' (1811), ''[[Mansfield Park]]'' (1814), ''[[Emma (novel)|Emma]]'' (1815)'' and [[Persuasion (novel)|Persuasion]]'' (1818).

The most important British novelist at the beginning of the early 19th century was Sir Walter Scott, who was not only a highly successful British novelist, but "the greatest single influence on fiction in the 19th century...[and] a European figure".<ref>J. A. Cuddon, ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1984), p. 435.</ref> Scott's novel writing career was launched in 1814 with ''[[Waverley (novel)|Waverley]]'', often called the first historical novel, and was followed by ''[[Ivanhoe]]''. The [[Waverley Novels]], including ''[[The Antiquary]]'', ''[[Old Mortality]]'', ''[[The Heart of Midlothian]]'', and whose subject is Scottish history, are now generally regarded as Scott's masterpieces.<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p.890.</ref>

=={{anchor|Victorian literature: 1837-1900}}Victorian literature: 1837–1900==
{{see also|Victorian literature}}

===Victorian fiction===
====The novel====
{{Main|English novel|l1=English novel (Victorian)}}

It was in the [[Victorian era]] (1837–1900) that the novel became the leading [[literary genre]] in English.<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'' (1990), p.93.</ref> Women played an important part in this rising popularity both as authors and as readers.<ref>''Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'', p.95.</ref> Monthly [[Serial (literature)|serialising]] of fiction encouraged this surge in popularity, due to a combination of the rise of literacy, technological advances in printing, and improved economics of distribution.<ref>Graham Law, ''Serializing Fiction in the Victorian Press'' (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 34.</ref> [[Circulating libraries]], that allowed books to be borrowed for an annual subscription, were a further factor in the rising popularity of the novel.

[[File:Charles Dickens 3.jpg|upright|right|thumb|[[Charles Dickens]]]]

[[Charles Dickens]] (1812–70) emerged on the literary scene in the late 1830s and soon became probably the most famous novelist in the history of British literature. Dickens fiercely satirised various aspects of society, including the [[workhouse]] in ''[[Oliver Twist]]'', the failures of the legal system in ''[[Bleak House]]''. In more recent years, Dickens has been most admired for his later novels, such as ''[[Dombey and Son]]'' (1846–1848), ''[[Bleak House]]'' (1852–1853) and ''[[Little Dorrit]]'' (1855–1857), ''[[Great Expectations]]'' (1860–1861), and ''[[Our Mutual Friend]]'' (1864–1865).<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'' (1990), p.106-7.</ref>

An early rival to Dickens was [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] (1811–1863), who during the Victorian period ranked second only to him, but he is now much less read and is known almost exclusively for ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' (1847).

The [[Brontë]] sisters, Emily, Charlotte and Anne, were other significant novelists in the 1840s and 1850s. Their novels caused a sensation when they were first published and subsequently were accepted as classics. [[Charlotte Brontë]]'s (1816–1855) work was ''[[Jane Eyre]]'', broke new ground in being written from an intensely first-person female perspective.<ref>Lucasta Miller, ''The Bronte Myth''. (NY: Anchor, 2005), pp12-13</ref> [[Emily Brontë]]'s (1818–1848) novel was ''[[Wuthering Heights]]'' and, according to [[Juliet Gardiner]], "the vivid sexual passion and power of its language and imagery impressed, bewildered and appalled reviewers".<ref>Juliet Gardiner, ''The History today who's who in British history'' (2000), p. 109</ref> The third Brontë novel of 1847 was [[Anne Brontë]]'s (1820–1849) ''[[Agnes Grey]]'', which deals with the lonely life of a governess.

[[Elizabeth Gaskell]] (1810–1865) was also a successful writer and ''[[North and South (1855 novel)|North and South]]'' contrasts the lifestyle in the industrial north of England with the wealthier south.<ref>Abrams, M.H., et al. (Eds.) "Elizabeth Gaskell, 1810–1865". ''The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors: The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century'', 7th ed., Vol. B. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2001.</ref>

[[Anthony Trollope]] (1815–1882) was one of the more successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his works are set in the imaginary west country county of [[Barsetshire]], including ''[[The Warden]]'' (1855) and ''[[Barchester Towers]]'' (1857). Trollope's novels portray the lives of the landowning and professional classes of early Victorian England.<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' (1996), p.1013.</ref>

[[George Eliot]] (Mary Ann Evans (1819–1880) was a major novelist of the mid-Victorian period. Her works, especially ''[[Middlemarch]]'' 1871–1872), are important examples of [[literary realism]], and they are admired for their combination of high [[Victorian literature|Victorian literary]] detail, with an intellectual breadth that removes them from the narrow geographic confines they often depict, leading to comparisons with Tolstoy.<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'' (1990), p. 490.</ref>

[[George Meredith]] (1828–1909) is best remembered for his novels ''[[The Ordeal of Richard Feverel]]'' (1859) and ''[[The Egoist (novel)|The Egoist]]'' (1879). "His reputation stood very high well into" the 20th century but then seriously declined.<ref name="English Literature 1996 pp.650-1">''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' (1996), pp.650–1.</ref>

[[File:H. G. Wells, c.1890.jpg|thumb|[[H. G. Wells]] studying in London, taken {{Circa|1890}}]]
An interest in rural matters and the changing social and economic situation of the countryside is seen in the novels of [[Thomas Hardy]] (1840–1928). A Victorian realist, in the tradition of George Eliot, he was also influenced both in his novels and poetry by Romanticism, especially by [[William Wordsworth]].<ref>Dennis Taylor, "Hardy and Wordsworth". Victorian Poetry, vol. 24, no. 4, Winter, 1986.</ref> He gained fame as the author of such novels as, ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd]]'' (1874), ''[[The Mayor of Casterbridge]]'' (1886), ''[[Tess of the d'Urbervilles]]'' (1891), and ''[[Jude the Obscure]]'' (1895).

Another significant late 19th-century novelist is [[George Gissing]] (1857–1903), who published 23 novels from 1880 to 1903. His best-known novel is ''[[New Grub Street]]'' (1891).

Also in the late 1890s, the Polish-born writer [[Joseph Conrad]] (1857–1924), an important forerunner of [[modernist literature]], began publishing his first novels. Conrad's ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'' was published in 1899. [[Joseph Conrad]]'s ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'' (1899) is an important example about the changing times during Queen Victoria's reign, signaling the transition from realism to modernism. While Conrad's depiction of the local Africans in his novel is often criticized as deeply dehumanizing (for example, [[Chinua Achebe]] in ''[[An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness]]''), others argue that this xenophobic characterization belongs to the fictional narrator ([[Charles Marlow]]), and that Conrad seeks to blur the lines between societies, demonstrating the ambiguity and darkness inherent in each.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lackey |first=Michael |date=2005 |title=The Moral Conditions for Genocide in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lit.2005.0010 |journal=College Literature |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=20–41 |doi=10.1353/lit.2005.0010 |s2cid=170188739 |issn=1542-4286|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Another major novel of Conrad's published towards the end of the Victorian era was ''[[Lord Jim]]'' (1900). Considered one of his masterpieces, ''[[Lord Jim]]'' also makes use of the narration of the character [[Charles Marlow|Marlow]] to tell the story of a disgraced young sailor who seeks to make amends for abandoning a steamer and its passengers during its moment of need. ''[[Lord Jim]]'' has also been praised for its innovative psychological exploration of cowardice, self knowledge, and personal growth, as well as its experimental narrative structure anticipating literary modernism. As with ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'', the novel has also been notable for casting doubts on the assumptions of the colonial order of the day.

====The short story====
There are early European examples of [[short story|short stories]] published separately from 1790 to 1810, but the first true collections of short stories appeared from 1810 to 1830 in several countries around the same period.<ref>''Short Story'' in Jacob E. Safra e.a., ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'', 15th edition, Micropaedia volume 10, Chicago, 1998.</ref> The early short stories in the United Kingdom were [[gothic fiction|gothic tales]] like [[Richard Cumberland (dramatist)|Richard Cumberland]]'s "remarkable narrative" "The Poisoner of Montremos" (1791).<ref>''Oxford Book of Gothic Tales''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001</ref> Major novelists like [[Sir Walter Scott]] and [[Charles Dickens]] also wrote some short stories.

====Genre fiction====
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2016}}

Important developments occurred in [[genre fiction]] in this era.

[[Adventure novel]]s were popular, including [[Sir John Barrow]]'s descriptive [[The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of HMS Bounty|1831 account]] of the [[Mutiny on the Bounty]]. The [[Lost World (genre)|Lost World]] literary genre was inspired by real stories of archaeological discoveries by imperial adventurers. [[Sir Henry Rider Haggard]] wrote ''[[King Solomon's Mines]]'', one of the early examples, in 1885. Contemporary European politics and diplomatic manoeuvrings informed [[Anthony Hope]]'s swashbuckling [[Ruritanian romance|Ruritanian adventure novels]] ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' (1894). [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] (1850–1894) also wrote works in this genre, including ''[[Kidnapped (novel)|Kidnapped]]'' (1886), an [[historical]] novel set in the aftermath of the [[Jacobite rising of 1745]], and ''[[Treasure Island]]'' (1883), the classic [[Piracy|pirate]] adventure.

[[Wilkie Collins]]' [[epistolary novel]] ''[[The Moonstone]]'' (1868) is generally considered the first [[Detective fiction|detective novel]] in the English language, and soon after [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] began his [[Sherlock Holmes]] series about a London-based "consulting detective". Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring Holmes, from 1880 to 1907, with a final case in 1914.

[[File:PortraitOfACD.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] was born in Scotland.]]

[[H. G. Wells]]'s (1866–1946) writing career began in the 1890s with science fiction novels like ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' (1898), which describes an invasion of late Victorian England by [[Martian]]s, and Wells is, along with Frenchman [[Jules Verne]] (1828–1905), as a major figure in the development of the science fiction genre.

The history of the modern [[fantasy literature|fantasy]] genre is generally said to begin with [[George MacDonald]], the influential author of ''[[The Princess and the Goblin]]'' and ''[[Phantastes]]'' (1858). [[William Morris]] was a popular English poet who also wrote several fantasy novels during the latter part of the 19th century. The [[vampire literature|vampire genre]] fiction began with [[John William Polidori]]'s "[[The Vampyre]]" (1819). This short story was inspired by the life of [[Lord Byron]] and his poem ''[[The Giaour]]''. Irish writer [[Bram Stoker]] was the author of seminal horror work ''[[Dracula]]'' (1897) with the primary antagonist the vampire [[Count Dracula]].

[[Penny dreadful]] publications were an alternative to mainstream works, and were aimed at working class adolescents, introducing the infamous [[Sweeney Todd]]. The premier [[ghost story]] writer of the 19th century was the Irish writer [[Sheridan Le Fanu]].

====Children's literature====
[[File:CharlesDodgson.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Lewis Carroll]]]]
[[children's literature|Literature for children]] developed as a separate genre during the Victorian era, and some works became internationally known, such as [[Lewis Carroll]], ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1865). At the end of 19th century, the author and illustrator [[Beatrix Potter]] was known for her children's books, which featured animal characters, including ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]'' (1902). In the latter years of the 19th century, precursors of the modern picture book were illustrated books of poems and short stories produced by illustrators [[Randolph Caldecott]], [[Walter Crane]], and [[Kate Greenaway]]. These had a larger proportion of pictures to words than earlier books, and many of their pictures were in colour. [[Vice Versa (novel)|''Vice Versa'']] (1882) by [[F. Anstey]], sees a father and son [[Body swap|exchange bodies]] – body swaps have been a popular theme in various media since the book was published.

===Victorian poetry===
{{Main|English poetry|l1=English poetry (Victorian)}}

[[File:Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson by George Frederic Watts.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]]]
The leading poets during the Victorian period were [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]] (1809–1892), [[Robert Browning]] (1812–1889), [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]] (1806–1861), and [[Matthew Arnold]] (1822–1888). The poetry of this period was heavily influenced by the [[Romantics]], but went off in its own directions. Particularly notable was the development of the [[dramatic monologue]], a form used by many poets in this period, but perfected by Browning.<ref>Carol T. Christ, ''Victorian and Modern Poetics''. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,1986); "Robert Browning", ''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature''. (New York: Prentice Hall, 1990), p.373.</ref>

Tennyson was [[Poet Laureate]] of the United Kingdom during much of [[Queen Victoria]]'s reign. He was described by T.S. Eliot, as "the greatest master of metrics as well as melancholia", and as having "the finest ear of any English poet since [[John Milton|Milton]]".<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p.981.</ref>

While [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]] was the wife of Robert Browning, she had established her reputation as a major poet before she met him. Her famous work is the sequence of 44 sonnets "[[Sonnets from the Portuguese]]", published in ''Poems'' (1850).<ref>''The Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature'', p.372.</ref> [[Matthew Arnold]]'s reputation as a poet has declined in recent years, and he is best remembered now for his critical works, like ''[[Culture and Anarchy]]'' (1869) and his 1867 poem "[[Dover Beach]]".

[[Dante Gabriel Rossetti]] (1828–1882) was a poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the [[Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood]] in 1848 with [[William Holman Hunt]] and [[John Everett Millais]], and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement, notably [[William Morris]] and [[Edward Burne-Jones]].<ref>''The Cambridge history of English and American literature: An encyclopedia in eighteen volumes'', ed. by A.W. Ward, A.R. Waller, W.P. Trent, J. Erskine, S.P. Sherman, and C. Van Doren. (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons University Press, 1907–21).</ref>

While [[Arthur Clough]] (1819–61) was a minor figure of this era, he has been described as "a fine poet whose experiments in extending the range of literary language and subject were ahead of his time".<ref>[http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/clough/bio.html "Arthur Hugh Clough – A Brief Biography"], Glenn Everett</ref>

[[George Meredith]] (1828–1909) is remembered for his innovative collection of poems ''[[Modern Love (poetry collection)|Modern Love]]'' (1862).<ref name="English Literature 1996 pp.650-1"/>

In the second half of the century, English poets began to take an interest in French [[Symbolism (movement)|Symbolism]]. Two groups of poets emerged in the 1890s, the ''[[The Yellow Book|Yellow Book]]'' poets who adhered to the tenets of [[Aestheticism]], including [[Algernon Charles Swinburne]], [[Oscar Wilde]] and [[Arthur Symons]] and the [[Rhymers' Club]] group, that included [[Ernest Dowson]], [[Lionel Johnson]] and Irishman [[William Butler Yeats]]. Irishman Yeats went on to become an important modernist in the 20th century. Also in the 1890s [[A. E. Housman]] (1859–1936) published at his own expense ''[[A Shropshire Lad]]''. The poems' wistful evocation of doomed youth in the English countryside, in spare language and distinctive imagery, appealed strongly to late Victorian and Edwardian taste.<ref>A.E. Housman, ''A Shropshire Lad'', XL</ref>

The [[nonsense verse]] of [[Edward Lear]], along with the novels and poems of [[Lewis Carroll]], is regarded as a precursor of [[surrealism]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/edward-lear | title=Edward Lear | date=23 May 2022 }}</ref> In 1846, Lear published ''[[:s:A Book of Nonsense|A Book of Nonsense]]'', a volume of limericks that went through three editions and helped popularise the form.

Writers of comic verse included the dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator [[W. S. Gilbert]] (1836–1911), who is best known for his 14 [[comic opera]]s<!--His and Sullivan's preferred term. The G&S Project [[WP:G&S]] uses this term for all of their works.--> produced in [[Gilbert and Sullivan|collaboration]] with the composer Sir [[Arthur Sullivan]], of which the famous include ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'', ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' and ''[[The Mikado]]''.<ref>Kenrick, John. [http://www.musicals101.com/gilbert3.htm ''G&S Story: Part III''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105033554/http://www.musicals101.com/gilbert3.htm |date=5 January 2010 }}, accessed 13 October 2006; and Powell, Jim. [http://www.libertystory.net/LSARTSGILBERT.htm ''William S. Gilbert's Wicked Wit for Liberty''] accessed 13 October 2006.</ref>

===Victorian drama===
[[File:Oscar Wilde by Napoleon Sarony. Three-quarter-length photograph, seated.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Oscar Wilde]], 1882]]
For much of the first half of the 19th century, drama in London and provincial theatres was restricted by a licensing system to the [[Patent theatre]] companies, and all other theatres could perform only musical entertainments (although magistrates had powers to license occasional dramatic performances). The passing of the [[Theatres Act 1843]] removed the monopoly on drama held by the Patent theatres.

Irish playwright [[Dion Boucicault]] (1820–90) was an extremely popular writer of comedies who achieved success on the London stage with works like ''London Assurance'', (1841), in the middle of the 19th century. However, drama did not achieve importance as a genre in the 19th century until the end of the century, and then the main figures were also Irish-born. In the last decade of the century major playwrights emerged, including [[George Bernard Shaw]] (1856–1950), ''Arms and the Man'' (1894), and [[Oscar Wilde]] (1854–1900), ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' (1895). Both of these Irish writers lived mainly in England and wrote in English, with the exception of some works in French by Wilde.

==20th century==
{{Main|Twentieth-century English literature|Scottish literature|Irish literature|Welsh literature in English}}
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2012}}
The year 1922 marked a significant change in the relationship between Great Britain and Ireland, with the setting up of the (predominantly Catholic) [[Irish Free State]] in most of Ireland, and the predominantly Protestant Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. This separation also leads to questions as to what extent Irish writing prior to 1922 should be treated as a colonial literature. There are also those who question whether the literature of Northern Ireland is Irish or British. Nationalist movements in Britain, especially in Wales and Scotland, also significantly influenced writers in the 20th and 21st centuries.

==={{anchor|Modernism and cultural revivals: 1901-1945}}Modernism and cultural revivals: 1901–1945===
{{Main|Literary modernism|Modernism}}From around 1910 the [[Modernist literature|Modernist movement]] began to influence British literature. While their Victorian predecessors had usually been happy to cater to mainstream middle-class taste, 20th-century writers often felt alienated from it, so responded by writing more intellectually challenging works or by pushing the boundaries of acceptable content.

==== Edwardian fiction ====
The short but influential [[Edwardian era]] emerged with the death of [[Queen Victoria]] in 1901 and continued until the First World War.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edwardian: Era, Characteristics & Literature {{!}} StudySmarter |url=https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/literary-movements/edwardian/ |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=StudySmarter UK}}</ref> During this time, the world was introduced to cozy and puckish animal characters of [[Beatrix Potter]] along with the eternally youthful antics of [[Peter Pan]] ([[J. M. Barrie]]). [[A. A. Milne]] also began to write during this time, but his beloved [[Winnie-the-Pooh|Winnie the Pooh]] would not be published until 1926.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.35031 |title=Milne, Alan Alexander (1882–1956) |date=2017-11-28 |publisher=Oxford University Press |series=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|doi=10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.35031 }}</ref> [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[Just So Stories|Just So Stories For Little Children]]'' (1902) was a successful followup to his earlier adventures with [[Mowgli]] and [[The Jungle Book]] (1894).

Other exemplary novels of the time take on an optimistic but critical tone, including [[E.M. Forster]]'s ''[[A Room with a View]]'' (1908)''.'' Here, Forster satirizes the classism and xenophobia of Victorian England, using his own travel experiences to question the "ingrained bias[es]" of the previous century.<ref name="historic-uk.com">{{Cite web |title=How the Victorian Era affected Edwardian Literature |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Edwardian-Literature/ |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=Historic UK}}</ref> The [[Women's suffrage|Women's Suffrage Movement]] was also gaining momentum during this era<ref>{{Cite web |title=Votes for Women |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Votes-For-Women/ |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=Historic UK}}</ref> and fiction reflected these ideas. More than ever, fictional women were protagonists (not just supporting roles), and they often crossed social and geographical boundaries through marriage or the pursuit of knowledge.<ref name="historic-uk.com"/>

Joseph Conrad, who started writing during the Victorian era, continued to produce important novels into the Edwardian period. ''[[Nostromo]]'' (1904), long regarded as one of his finest novels, deals with the corrupting impact about wealth on a revolutionary society in a fictional South American country.

====First World War====
The experiences of the First World War were reflected in the work of [[war poet]]s such as [[Wilfred Owen]], [[Rupert Brooke]], [[Isaac Rosenberg]], [[Robert Graves]], and [[Siegfried Sassoon]]. ''[[In Parenthesis]]'', an [[epic poem]] by [[David Jones (poet)|David Jones]] first published in 1937, is a notable work of the [[World War I in literature|literature of the First World War]], that was influenced by Welsh traditions, despite Jones being born in England. In non-fiction prose [[T. E. Lawrence]]'s (Lawrence of Arabia) autobiographical account in ''[[Seven Pillars of Wisdom]]'' of the [[Arab Revolt]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]] is important.

===={{anchor|Poetry: 1901-1945}}Poetry: 1901–1945====
{{Main|Modernist poetry in English}}

[[File:Thomashardy restored.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Thomas Hardy]]]]
[[Thomas Hardy]] (1840–1928) and [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]] (1844–1889), two Victorian poets who published little in the 19th century, have come to be regarded as major poets. While Hardy first established his reputation the late 19th century with novels, he wrote poetry throughout his career. However he did not publish his first collection until 1898, so that he tends to be treated as a 20th-century poet.<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed. Margaret Drabble, p. 439.</ref> Gerard Manley Hopkins's ''Poems'' were posthumously published in 1918 by [[Robert Bridges]].

[[Free verse]] and other stylistic innovations came to the forefront in this era, with which T.S. Eliot and [[Ezra Pound]] were especially associated. [[T. S. Eliot]] (1888–1965) was born American, migrating to England in 1914, and he was "arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century."<ref name=Collini>{{cite news
 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/nov/07/eliot-letters-book-review
 | title = I cannot go on
 | author = Collini, Stefan
 | author-link = Stefan Collini
 | date = 7 November 2009
 | work= The Guardian
 | access-date = 9 April 2012
}}
</ref> He produced some of the best-known poems in the English language, including "[[The Waste Land]]" (1922) and ''[[Four Quartets]]'' (1935–1942).<ref name=EB>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/184705/T-S-Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot], ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', accessed 7 November 2009.</ref>

The [[Georgian poets]] like Rupert Brooke, [[Walter de la Mare]] (1873–1956) and [[John Masefield]] (1878–1967, Poet Laureate from 1930) maintained a conservative approach to poetry by combining romanticism, sentimentality and hedonism. [[Edward Thomas (poet)|Edward Thomas]] (1878–1917) is sometimes treated as another Georgian poet.<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed. Margaret Drabble, pp. 988. 377.</ref>

In the 1930s the [[Auden Group]], sometimes called simply "the Thirties poets", was an important group of politically left-wing writers, that included [[W.H. Auden]] (1907–73) and [[Cecil Day-Lewis]] (1904–1972) and [[Louis MacNeice]] (1907–1963). Auden was a major poet who had a similar influence on subsequent poets as W.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot had had on earlier generations.<ref>"Auden, W. H.", ''Oxford Reference''. Oxford University Press. n.d. 8 November 2012. http://www.oxfordreference.com/10.1093/acref/9780192806871.001.0001/acref-9780192806871-e-421</ref>

[[Keith Douglas]] (1920–1944) was noted for his war poetry during World War II and his wry memoir of the [[Western Desert Campaign]], ''Alamein to Zem Zem''. He was killed in action during the [[invasion of Normandy]]. [[Alun Lewis (poet)|Alun Lewis]] (1915–1944), born in South Wales, was a prominent English-language poet of the war<ref>{{cite web |editor=Cary Archard |url=http://www.lrbshop.co.uk/collected-poems_4060.html |title=London Review |publisher=Lrbshop.co.uk |access-date=6 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722095649/http://www.lrbshop.co.uk/collected-poems_4060.html |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Second World War has remained a theme in British literature.

====Modernist novel====
[[File:Kiplingcropped.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Rudyard Kipling]], 1912]]
While [[modernism]] was to become an important literary movement in the early decades of the new century, there were also many fine writers who, like Thomas Hardy, were not modernists. Novelists include: [[Rudyard Kipling]] (1865–1936), who was also a successful poet; [[H. G. Wells]] (1866–1946); [[John Galsworthy]] (1867–1933), (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1932), whose novels include ''[[The Forsyte Saga]]'' (1906–1921); [[Arnold Bennett]] (1867–1931) author of ''[[The Old Wives' Tale]]'' (1908); [[G. K. Chesterton]] (1874–1936); [[E. M. Forster]] (1879–1970). The most popular British writer of the early years of the 20th century was arguably [[Rudyard Kipling]], a highly versatile writer of novels, short stories and poems, and to date the youngest ever recipient of the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] (1907).<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/318987/Rudyard-Kipling "Rudyard Kipling."] Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 Nov 2012.</ref>

[[H. G. Wells]] was a highly prolific author who is now best known for his work in the science fiction genre.<ref>Adam Charles Roberts (2000), [https://books.google.com/books?id=IRw_MIPjnXwC&pg=PA48 "The History of Science Fiction": Page 48] in ''Science Fiction'', Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415-19204-8}}.</ref> His notable science fiction works include ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'', and ''[[The Time Machine]]'', written in the 1890s. Forster's ''[[A Passage to India]]'' 1924, reflected challenges to imperialism, and his earlier works such as ''[[A Room with a View]]'' (1908) and ''[[Howards End]]'' (1910) examined the restrictions and hypocrisy of Edwardian society in England.

[[Image:Virginia Woolf 1927.jpg|upright|right|thumb|[[Virginia Woolf]] in 1927]]
Writing in the 1920s and 1930s [[Virginia Woolf]] was an influential feminist and a major stylistic innovator associated with the [[Stream of consciousness (narrative mode)|stream-of-consciousness]] technique. Her novels include ''[[Mrs Dalloway]]'' 1925, and ''[[The Waves]]'' 1931, and ''[[A Room of One's Own]]'' 1929, which contains her famous dictum: "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction".<ref>''The Cambridge companion to Virginia Woolf''. By Sue Roe, Susan Sellers. p.219. Cambridge University Press, 2000.</ref> Woolf and E. M. Forster were members of the [[Bloomsbury Group]], an enormously influential group of English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists.<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul|last=Fargis|title=The New York Public Library Desk Reference – 3rd Edition|year=1998|publisher=Macmillan General Reference|page=262|isbn=0-02-862169-7}}</ref>

[[Image:DH Lawrence 1906.jpg|upright|right|thumb|[[D. H. Lawrence]], 1906]]
Other early modernists were [[Dorothy Richardson]] (1873–1957), whose novel ''Pointed Roof'' (1915), is one of the early example of the [[stream of consciousness (narrative mode)|stream of consciousness]] technique and [[D. H. Lawrence]] (1885–1930), who wrote with understanding about the social life of the lower and middle classes, and the personal life of those who could not adapt to the social norms of his time. ''[[Sons and Lovers]]'' 1913, is widely regarded as his earliest masterpiece. There followed ''[[The Rainbow]]'' in 1915 and its sequel ''[[Women in Love]]'' in 1920.<ref name="English Literature p. 562">''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p. 562.</ref>

An important development, beginning really in the 1930s and 1940s, was a tradition of working class novels that were actually written by writers who had a [[Proletarian novel|working-class background]].

An essayist and novelist, [[George Orwell]]'s works are considered important social and political commentaries of the 20th century, dealing with issues such as poverty in ''[[The Road to Wigan Pier]]'' (1937) and in the 1940s, his satires of totalitarianism included ''[[Animal Farm]]'' (1945). [[Malcolm Lowry]] published in the 1930s, and he is best known for ''[[Under the Volcano]]'' (1947). [[Evelyn Waugh]] satirised the "bright young things" of the 1920s and 1930s, notably in ''[[A Handful of Dust]]'' and ''[[Decline and Fall]]'', and his novel ''[[Brideshead Revisited]]'' has a theological basis, aiming to examine the effect of divine grace on its main characters.<ref>Memo dated 18 February 1947 from Evelyn Waugh to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], reproduced in {{cite news | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/may/22/classics.film#down | title = Waugh versus Hollywood | date = 22 May 2004 | author = [[Giles Foden]] | newspaper = The Guardian | page = 34}}</ref> [[Aldous Huxley]] (1894–1963) published his famous [[dystopia]] ''[[Brave New World]]'' in 1932, the same year as [[John Cowper Powys]]'s ''[[A Glastonbury Romance]]''. In 1938, [[Graham Greene]]'s (1904–1991) first major novel ''[[Brighton Rock (novel)|Brighton Rock]]'' was published.

==={{anchor|Late modernism: 1946-2000}}Late modernism: 1946–2000===
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Though some have seen modernism ending by around 1939,<ref>Kevin J. H. Dettmar "Modernism". David Scott Kastan, ed., ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature''. Oxford University Press 2005. http://www.oxfordreference.com 27 October 2011</ref> with regard to English literature, "When (if) modernism petered out and postmodernism began has been contested almost as hotly as when the transition from Victorianism to modernism occurred".<ref>"modernism", ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature''. Edited by Dinah Birch. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. <http://www.oxfordreference.com> 27 October 2011</ref> In fact a number of modernists were still living and publishing in the 1950s and 1960, including [[T.S. Eliot]], [[Dorothy Richardson]] and [[John Cowper Powys]]. Furthermore, Northumberland poet [[Basil Bunting]], born in 1901, published little until ''[[Briggflatts]]'' in 1965.

====Novel====
In 1947 [[Malcolm Lowry]] published ''[[Under the Volcano]]''. [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' was published in 1949. An essayist and novelist, Orwell's works are important social and political commentaries of the 20th century. [[Evelyn Waugh]]'s [[Second World War]] trilogy ''[[Sword of Honour]]'' (1952–1961) was published in this period.

[[Graham Greene]]'s works span the 1930s to the 1980s. He was a convert to Catholicism, and his novels explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world. Other novelists writing in the 1950s and later were: [[Anthony Powell]], ''[[A Dance to the Music of Time]]''; [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate [[Sir William Golding]]; philosopher [[Dame Iris Murdoch]], whose novels deal with sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious; and Scottish novelist [[Muriel Spark]], [[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (novel)|''The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'']] (1961). [[Anthony Burgess]] is remembered for his dystopian novel ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' 1962. [[Mervyn Peake]] (1911–1968) published his [[Gothic fantasy]] [[Gormenghast trilogy]] from 1946 to 1959. [[Angela Carter]] (1940–1992) was a novelist and journalist, known for her [[Feminism|feminist]], [[magical realism]], and picaresque works.
[[File:Doris lessing 20060312.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Doris Lessing]], Cologne, 2006]]

[[Sir Salman Rushdie]] is among a number of writers from former British colonies who permanently settled in Britain. Rushdie achieved fame with ''[[Midnight's Children]]'' (1981). His [[The Satanic Verses controversy|controversial novel]] ''[[The Satanic Verses]]'' (1989) was inspired in part by the life of Muhammad.

[[Doris Lessing]] from [[Southern Rhodesia]] (now [[Zimbabwe]]) published her first novel ''[[The Grass Is Singing]]'' in 1950 after immigrating to England. She initially wrote about her African experiences. Lessing soon became a dominant presence in the English literary scene, publishing frequently, and she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007. [[Sir V. S. Naipaul]] (1932–2018) was another immigrant, born in Trinidad, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Also from the [[West Indies]] is [[George Lamming]] (1927–2022) who wrote ''[[In the Castle of My Skin]]'' (1953), and from Pakistan came [[Hanif Kureshi]] (1954–), a playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. 2017 [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] (1954– ) was born in Japan, but his parents immigrated to Britain when he was age 6,<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p. 506.</ref> and he became a British citizen as an adult. [[Martin Amis]] (1949–2023) was one of the prominent British novelists of the end of the 20th, beginning of the 21st century. [[Pat Barker]] (1943–) has won many awards for her fiction. English novelist and screenwriter [[Ian McEwan]] (1948– ) is a highly regarded writer.

====Drama====
An important cultural movement in the British theatre that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s was [[Kitchen sink realism]] (or kitchen sink drama), art, novels, film, and television plays.<ref>Walker, John. (1992) [http://www.artdesigncafe.com/kitchen-sink-school-1992 "Kitchen Sink School"]. ''Glossary of Art, Architecture & Design since 1945'', 3rd. ed. Retrieved 29 August 2012.</ref> The term [[angry young men]] was often applied members of this artistic movement. It used a style of [[social realism]] which depicts the domestic lives of the working class to explore social issues and political issues. The [[drawing room play]]s of the post war period, typical of dramatists like Sir [[Terence Rattigan]] and Sir [[Noël Coward]], were challenged in the 1950s in plays like [[John Osborne]]'s ''[[Look Back in Anger]]'' (1956).

Again in the 1950s, the [[Theatre of the Absurd]] profoundly affected British dramatists, especially Irishman [[Samuel Beckett]]'s play ''[[Waiting for Godot]]''. Among those influenced were [[Harold Pinter]] (1930–2008), (''[[The Birthday Party (play)|The Birthday Party]]'', 1958), and [[Tom Stoppard]] (1937– ) (''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'',1966).<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', ed. Margaret Drabble (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1996), p.80.</ref>

The [[Theatres Act 1968]] abolished the system of censorship of the stage that had existed in Great Britain since 1737. The new freedoms of the London stage were tested by [[Howard Brenton]]'s ''[[The Romans in Britain]]'', first staged at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] during 1980, and subsequently the focus of an unsuccessful private prosecution in 1982.

Other playwrights whose careers began later in the century are [[Sir Alan Ayckbourn]] (''[[Absurd Person Singular]]'', 1972), [[Michael Frayn]] (1933–) playwright and novelist, [[David Hare (playwright)|David Hare]] (1947– ), [[David Edgar (playwright)|David Edgar]] (1948– ). [[Dennis Potter]]'s more distinctive dramatic work was produced for television.

During the 1950s and 1960s, many major British playwrights either effectively began their careers with the BBC, or had works adapted for radio. Many major British playwrights in fact, either effectively began their careers with the BBC, or had works adapted for radio, including [[Caryl Churchill]] and [[Tom Stoppard]] whose "first professional production was in the fifteen-minute ''Just Before Midnight'' programme on BBC Radio, which showcased new dramatists".<ref name = "autogenerated1">{{Citation | publisher = IRDP | url = http://www.irdp.co.uk/radiodrama.htm | first = Tim | last = Crook | title = International radio drama | place = UK | access-date = 29 January 2013 | archive-date = 5 October 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161005200753/http://www.irdp.co.uk/radiodrama.htm | url-status = dead }}.</ref> [[John Mortimer]] made his radio debut as a dramatist in 1955, with his adaptation of his own novel ''Like Men Betrayed'' for the BBC [[Light Programme]]. Other notable radio dramatists included [[Brendan Behan]] and novelist [[Angela Carter]].

Among the more famous works created for radio, are [[Dylan Thomas]]'s ''[[Under Milk Wood]]'' (1954), [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[All That Fall]]'' (1957), [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[A Slight Ache]]'' (1959) and [[Robert Bolt]]'s ''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1954).<ref>[[J. C. Trewin]], "Critic on the Hearth." ''Listener'' [London, England] 5 August 1954: 224.</ref>

====Poetry====
While poets T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden and Dylan Thomas were still publishing after 1945, new poets started their careers in the 1950s and 1960s, including [[Philip Larkin]] (1922–1885) (''[[The Whitsun Weddings]]'',1964) and [[Ted Hughes]] (1930–1998) (''[[The Hawk in the Rain]]'', 1957). Northern Ireland has produced a number of significant poets, the most famous being Nobel prize winner [[Seamus Heaney]]. However, Heaney regarded himself as Irish and not British. Others poets from Northern Ireland include [[Derek Mahon]], [[Paul Muldoon]], [[James Fenton]], [[Michael Longley]], and [[Medbh McGuckian]].

In the 1960s and 1970s [[Martian poetry]] aimed to break the grip of 'the familiar' by describing ordinary things in unfamiliar ways, for example, through the eyes of a Martian. Poets closely associated with it are [[Craig Raine]] and [[Christopher Reid (writer)|Christopher Reid]]. [[Martin Amis]], an important novelist in the late 20th century, carried into fiction this drive to make the familiar strange.<ref>The poet [[James Fenton]] was the first to use the term in an article titled 'Of the Martian School', ''New Statesman'', 20 October 1978, p.520.</ref> Another literary movement in this period was the [[British Poetry Revival]], a wide-reaching collection of groupings and subgroupings that embraces [[performance poetry|performance]], [[sound poetry|sound]] and [[concrete poetry]]. Leading poets associated with this movement include [[J. H. Prynne]], [[Eric Mottram]], [[Tom Raworth]], [[Denise Riley]] and [[Lee Harwood]]. It reacted to the conservative group called "[[The Movement (literature)|The Movement]]".

The [[Liverpool poets]] were [[Adrian Henri]], [[Brian Patten]] and [[Roger McGough]]. Their works were self-conscious attempts at creating an English equivalent to [[Beat Generation|the Beats]]. [[Tony Harrison]] (1937 – ), who explores the medium of language and the tension between native dialect (in his case, that of working-class Leeds) and acquired language,<ref name=nonmetropolitan>{{cite book|title=Poetry in the British Isles: Non-Metropolitan Perspectives|year=1995|publisher=University of Wales Press|isbn=0708312667}}</ref> and [[Simon Armitage]].

[[Geoffrey Hill]] (1932–2016) has been considered to be among the distinguished English poets of his generation,<ref name="Harold Bloom 1986">Harold Bloom, ed. ''Geoffrey Hill (Bloom's Modern Critical Views)'', Infobase Publishing, 1986.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hansard Debates for 18 Jun 2012|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm120618/debtext/120618-0001.htm|publisher=House of Commons Hansard|access-date=4 November 2012}}</ref> [[Charles Tomlinson]] (1927–2015) is another important English poet of an older generation, but "since his first publication in 1951, has built a career that has seen more notice in the international scene than in his native England.<ref name="carcanet1">{{cite web|url=http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?owner_id=770 |title=Carcanet Press page for Charles Tomlinson |publisher=Carcanet.co.uk |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref>

====Scottish literature====
Scotland has in the late 20th century produced several important novelists, including [[James Kelman]] who like Samuel Beckett can create humour out of grim situations; [[A. L. Kennedy]] whose 2007 novel ''[[Day (2007 novel)|Day]]'' was named Book of the Year in the [[Costa Book Awards]].;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/costa2007/story/0,,2245282,00.html|title=Perfect Day for AL Kennedy as she takes Costa book prize|work=The Guardian|date=23 January 2008|access-date=23 January 2008 | location=London | first=Mark | last=Brown}}</ref> [[Alasdair Gray]] whose ''[[Lanark: A Life in Four Books]]'' (1981) is a dystopian fantasy set in his home town Glasgow.

Highly anglicised Lowland Scots is often used in contemporary Scottish fiction, for example, the Edinburgh dialect of Lowland Scots used in ''[[Trainspotting (novel)|Trainspotting]]'' by [[Irvine Welsh]] to give a brutal depiction of the lives of working class Edinburgh drug users.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080509201836/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3559283.ece Irvine Welsh plans Trainspotting prequel] ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' Retrieved 15 March 2011</ref> In Northern Ireland, [[James Fenton (Ulster-Scots poet)|James Fenton]]'s poetry is written in contemporary [[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]].<ref name="Robinson 2003">Robinson (2003) ''The historical presence of Ulster-Scots in Ireland'', in ''The Languages of Ireland'', ed. Cronin, Michael & Ó Cuilleanáin, Cormac; Dublin: Four Courts Press {{ISBN|1-85182-698-X}}</ref> The poet [[Michael Longley]] (born 1939) has experimented with Ulster Scots for the translation of Classical verse, as in his 1995 collection ''The Ghost Orchid''.<ref name="Ferguson 2008">Ferguson, Frank, ed. (2008) ''Ulster-Scots Writing''. Dublin: Four Courts Press {{ISBN|978-1-84682-074-8}}</ref>

===Genre fiction===
{{Main|Genre literature}}

====Early 20th century====
Among significant writers in this genre in the early 20th century were [[Erskine Childers (author)|Erskine Childers]]' ''[[The Riddle of the Sands]]'' (1903), who wrote [[spy novel]]s, [[Emma Orczy]] (Baroness Orczy) author of ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'', an [[historical romance]] which recounted the adventures of a member of the English gentry in the [[French Revolution]]ary period. The title character established the notion of a "hero with a [[secret identity]]" into popular culture. [[John Buchan]] wrote [[adventure novel]]s like ''[[Prester John (novel)|Prester John]]'' (1910). Novels featuring a gentleman adventurer were popular between the wars, exemplified by the series of [[H. C. McNeile]] with ''[[Bulldog Drummond]]'' (1920), and [[Leslie Charteris]], whose many books chronicled the adventures of [[Simon Templar]], alias ''[[Simon Templar#Publishing history|The Saint]]''.
[[File:Agatha Christie.png|left|upright|thumb|[[Dame Agatha Christie]]]]
The medieval scholar [[M. R. James]] wrote highly regarded [[Ghost story|ghost stories]] in contemporary settings.

This was called 'the [[Golden Age of Detective Fiction]]'. [[Dame Agatha Christie]], a writer of crime novels, short stories and plays, is best remembered for her 80 detective novels and her successful West End theatre plays. Other female writers in the genre of crime fiction include [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] ([[gentleman detective]], [[Lord Peter Wimsey]]), [[Margery Allingham]] ([[Albert Campion]] – supposedly created as a parody of Sayers' Wimsey<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.strandmag.com/campion.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031224225414/http://strandmag.com/campion.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2003-12-24|title=The Great Detectives: Albert Campion|work=Strand Mag}}</ref>) and New Zealander [[Dame Ngaio Marsh]] ([[Roderick Alleyn]]). [[Georgette Heyer]] created the [[historical romance]] genre and alwrote detective fiction.

A major work of science fiction from the early 20th century is ''[[A Voyage to Arcturus]]'' by Scottish writer [[David Lindsay (novelist)|David Lindsay]], first published in 1920,<ref>[http://www.scifidimensions.com/Nov03/arcturus.htm Book Review: A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) by David Lindsay] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215222935/http://www.scifidimensions.com/Nov03/arcturus.htm |date=15 December 2014 }} – Review by Paul M. Kieniewicz 2003</ref> and was a central influence on [[C.S. Lewis]]'s ''[[Space Trilogy]]''.<ref>Kathryn Lindskoog – [http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=882 A Voyage to Arcturus, C.S. Lewis, and The Dark Tower]</ref>

[[File:J. R. R. Tolkien, 1940s.jpg|right|upright|thumb|[[J. R. R. Tolkien]]]]
From the early 1930s to late 1940s, an informal literary discussion group associated with the English faculty at the [[University of Oxford]] were ''[[The Inklings]]''. Its leading members were the major [[high fantasy|fantasy]] novelists: [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] and [[C. S. Lewis]]. Lewis is known for ''[[The Screwtape Letters]]'' (1942), ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' and ''[[The Space Trilogy]]'', and Tolkien is known as the author of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' (1937), ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', and ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.

====Later 20th century====
Among important writers of genre fiction in the second half of the 20th century are [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] writer [[Ian Fleming]], creator of [[James Bond 007]]. Fleming chronicled Bond's adventures in 12 novels, including ''[[Casino Royale (novel)|Casino Royale]]'' (1953).

In contrast to the larger-than-life spy capers of Bond, [[John le Carré]] was an author of [[spy fiction|spy novels]] who depicted a shadowy world of espionage and counter-espionage, and his best known novel ''[[The Spy Who Came in from the Cold]]'' (1963) is regarded as orominent in the genre.

[[Frederick Forsyth]] writes thriller novels, and [[Ken Follett]] writes spy thrillers as well as historical novels, notably ''[[The Pillars of the Earth]]'' (1989).

[[War novel]]s include [[Alistair MacLean]] thriller's ''[[The Guns of Navarone (novel)|The Guns of Navarone]]'' (1957), ''[[Where Eagles Dare]]'' (1968), and [[Jack Higgins]]' ''[[The Eagle Has Landed (novel)|The Eagle Has Landed]]'' (1975). [[Patrick O'Brian]]'s [[sea story|nautical]] historical novels feature the ''[[Aubrey–Maturin series]]'' set in the [[Royal Navy]].

[[Ronald Welch]]'s [[Carnegie Medal (literary award)|Carnegie Medal]] winning novel ''[[Knight Crusader]]'' is set in the 12th century and gives a depiction of the [[Third Crusade]], featuring the Christian leader and King of England [[Richard the Lionheart]]. [[Nigel Tranter]] also wrote historical novels of celebrated Scottish warriors; [[Robert the Bruce]] in ''[[Nigel Tranter#Robert the Bruce trilogy|The Bruce Trilogy]]''.

The [[Murder mystery|murder mysteries]] of both [[Ruth Rendell]] and [[P. D. James]] are popular crime fiction.

=====Science fiction=====
[[File:Clarke sm.jpg|upright|right|thumb|[[Sir Arthur C. Clarke]]]]
[[John Wyndham]] wrote [[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic]] science fiction, his notable works being ''[[The Day of the Triffids]]'' (1951), and ''[[The Midwich Cuckoos]]'' (1957). Other important writers in this genre are [[Sir Arthur C. Clarke]] ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' and [[Brian Aldiss]]. [[Michael Moorcock]] was involved with the 'New Wave' of science fiction writers "part of whose aim was to invest the genre with literary merit"<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p.674.</ref> Similarly [[J. G. Ballard]] (1930–2009) "became known in the 1960s as the most prominent of the 'New Wave' science fiction writers".<ref>''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', p.64.</ref> A later major figure in science fiction was [[Iain M. Banks]] who created a fictional anarchist, socialist, and utopian society [[the Culture]]. Nobel prize winner [[Doris Lessing]] also published a sequence of five science fiction novels the ''[[Canopus in Argos]]: Archives'' from 1979 to 1983.

=====Fantasy=====
[[Sir Terry Pratchett]] is best known for his ''[[Discworld]]'' series of comic fantasy novels, that begins with ''[[The Colour of Magic]]'' (1983), and includes ''[[Night Watch (Discworld)|Night Watch]]'' (2002).  While [[Neil Gaiman]] is a writer of both science fiction, and fantasy including ''[[Stardust (Gaiman novel)|Stardust]]'' (1998). [[Douglas Adams]] is known for his five-volume [[Comic science fiction|science fiction comedy]] series ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''. [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], arguably the most well-known author in the fantasy genre during the 20th century, is responsible for the creation of [[The Lord of the Rings]] (1954) and the wider [[Tolkien's Legendarium]].

===Literature for children and young adults===
[[File:J. K. Rowling 2010.jpg|150px|left|thumb|[[J. K. Rowling]], 2010]]

Significant writers of [[Children's literature|works for children]] include, [[Kenneth Grahame]], ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'' (1908), [[Rev. W. Awdry]], ''[[The Railway Series]]'' (1945–2011, [[A. A. Milne]], ''[[Winnie-the-Pooh]]'' (1926), and [[P. L. Travers]]' ''[[Mary Poppins (book series)|Mary Poppins]]''. Prolific children's author [[Enid Blyton]] chronicled the adventures of a group of young children and their dog in ''[[The Famous Five (novel series)|The Famous Five]]''. [[T. H. White]] wrote the [[Arthurian]] fantasy ''[[The Once and Future King]]'', the first part being ''[[The Sword in the Stone (novel)|The Sword in the Stone]]'' (1938). [[Mary Norton (author)|Mary Norton]] wrote ''[[The Borrowers]]'', featuring tiny people who borrow from humans. Inspiration for [[Frances Hodgson Burnett]]'s novel ''[[The Secret Garden]]'' was the Great Maytham Hall Garden in Kent. [[Hugh Lofting]] created the character [[Doctor Dolittle]] who appears in a series of [[Doctor Dolittle#The books|12 books]], and [[Dodie Smith]]'s ''[[The Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' featured the villainous [[Cruella de Vil]].

[[Roald Dahl]] is a prominent author of children's fantasy novels, like ''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]'' in 1964, which are often inspired from experiences from his childhood, with often unexpected endings, and unsentimental, dark humour.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-man-who-liked-to-make-up-stories-2158052.html Once upon a time, there was a man who liked to make up stories ...] ''The Independent'' (Sunday, 12 December 2010)</ref> Popular [[school story|school stories]] from this period include [[Ronald Searle]]'s ''[[St Trinian's School|St Trinian's]]''.

[[J. K. Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fantasy series is a sequence of seven novels that chronicle the adventures of the adolescent [[Magician (fantasy)|wizard]] [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]] is the best-selling book series in history. The series has been translated into 67 languages,<ref name="Translations for Harry Potter">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7649962.stm|title=Rowling 'makes £5 every second' |date=3 October 2008|publisher=BBC News|access-date=17 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/jun/18/harrypotter.artsandentertainment|title=Harry Potter breaks 400m in sales|date=18 June 2008 |work=The Guardian|access-date=17 October 2008 | location=London | first=Guy | last=Dammann}}</ref> placing Rowling among the more translated authors in history.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guinness World Records: L. Ron Hubbard Is the Most Translated Author|author=KMaul|url=http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/tbs_landing.jsp|publisher=The Book Standard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308213411/http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/tbs_landing.jsp|archive-date=8 March 2008 |year=2005|access-date=19 July 2007}}</ref>

==21st-century literature==
===Novel===
In the 21st century, an outstanding concern with [[historical fiction]] has been noted.<ref name="eb">[https://www.britannica.com/art/English-literature/The-21st-century English literature - The 21st century] Encyclopedia Britannica</ref> [[Hilary Mantel|Dame Hilary Mantel]] (1952–2022)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-23 |title=Hilary Mantel, celebrated author of Wolf Hall, dies aged 70 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/23/hilary-mantel-author-wolf-hall-dies |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> was a highly successful writer of historical novels, winning the Booker Prize twice for ''[[Wolf Hall]]'' 2009 and ''[[Bring Up the Bodies]]''. One of the more ambitious novelists to emerge in this period is [[David Mitchell (author)|David Mitchell]], whose far-reaching novel ''[[Cloud Atlas (novel)|Cloud Atlas]]'' (2004) spans from the 19th century into the future. Influences from earlier literary styles and techniques in English literature is notable by writers such as [[Ian McEwan]] in his 2002 novel ''[[Atonement (novel)|Atonement]]''.<ref name="eb" /> [[Zadie Smith]] was critically acclaimed for her debut novel ''[[White Teeth]]'' (2000), and for subsequent novels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150119-the-21st-centurys-12-best-novels |title=The 21st Century's 12 greatest novels |publisher=BBC Culture |date=19 January 2015 }}</ref> [[Julian Barnes]] (1946– ) is another prominent writer, and he won the 2011 Booker Prize for his book ''[[The Sense of an Ending]]''. [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] was noted for works such as the dystopian [[science fiction]]-novel ''[[Never Let Me Go (novel)|Never Let Me Go]]'' (2005), and he was awarded the [[2017 Nobel Prize in Literature]] for his novels.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2017/summary/ |title=Nobel Prize in Literature 2017 |publisher=nobelprize.org}}</ref>

===Theatre===
The theatrical landscape has been reconfigured, moving from a single national theatre at the end of the 20th century to four as a result of the devolution of cultural policy.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dickson|first=Andrew|title=Edinburgh festival 2011: where National Theatres meet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/aug/02/edinburgh-national-theatre-wales-scotland|access-date=4 November 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 August 2011}}</ref>

===Genre fiction===
[[E. L. James]]' [[erotic romance]] [[Fifty Shades trilogy|trilogy]] ''[[Fifty Shades of Grey]]'', ''[[Fifty Shades Darker]]'', and ''[[Fifty Shades Freed]]'', along with the companion novel ''[[Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian]]'', have sold over 100&nbsp;million copies globally, and set the record in the United Kingdom as the fastest selling paperback of all time.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121126170101/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2128881_2128882_2129207,00.html Who Should be Time's Person of the Year 2012? E.L. James].</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/2013/01/10/fifty_shades_of_grey_coming_in_hardcover/ |title="Fifty Shades of Grey" coming in hardcover |work=Salon.com |date=10 January 2013 |access-date=6 July 2013}}</ref> The perceived success and promotion of [[genre fiction]] authors from Scotland provoked controversy in 2009 when James Kelman criticised, in a speech at the [[Edinburgh International Book Festival]], the attention afforded to "upper middle-class young magicians" and "detective fiction" by the "Anglocentric" Scottish literary establishment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Literary Scotland torn apart over Kelman spat|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/more-arts-entertainment-news/literary-scotland-torn-apart-over-kelman-spat-1.825273|access-date=4 November 2012|newspaper=Sunday Herald|date=30 August 2009}}</ref>

===Literature for children and young adults===
[[Cressida Cowell]] wrote ''[[How to Train Your Dragon]]'', a series of 12 books set in a fictional [[Viking]] world. [[Philip Pullman]]'s is famous for his fantasy trilogy ''[[His Dark Materials]]'', which follows the [[coming-of-age]] of two children as they wander through a series of [[parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universes]] against a backdrop of epic events.

==Literary institutions==
Original literature continues to be promoted by institutions such as the [[Eisteddfod]] in Wales and the [[Welsh Books Council]]. The [[Royal Society of Edinburgh]] includes literature within its sphere of activity. [[Literature Wales]] is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.literaturewales.org/|title=Literature Wales}}</ref> which administers the [[Wales Book of the Year]] award. The imported eisteddfod tradition in the [[Channel Islands]] encouraged [[Oral literature|recitation]] and performance, a tradition that continues today.

Formed in 1949, the [[Cheltenham Literature Festival]] is the longest-running festival of its kind in the world. The [[Hay Festival]] in Wales attracts wide interest, and the [[Edinburgh International Book Festival]] is the largest festival of its kind in the world.

The [[Poetry Society]] publishes and promotes poetry, notably through an annual National Poetry Day. [[World Book Day (United Kingdom)|World Book Day]] is observed in Britain and the Crown Dependencies on the first Thursday in March annually.

===Literary prizes===
{{Main|List of British literary awards}}
British recipients of the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] include [[Rudyard Kipling]] (1907), [[John Galsworthy]] (1932), [[T.S. Eliot]] (1948), [[Bertrand Russell]] (1950), [[Winston Churchill]] (1953), [[William Golding]] (1983), [[V.S. Naipaul]] (2001), [[Harold Pinter]] (2005) [[Doris Lessing]] (2007), and [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] (2017).

Literary prizes for which writers from the United Kingdom are eligible include:
* [[Booker Prize]]
* [[Commonwealth Writers' Prize]]
* [[International Dublin Literary Award]]
* [[Carnegie Medal (literary award)|Carnegie Medal]]
* [[Costa Book Awards]] (formerly the Whitbread Awards)
* [[Orange Prize for Fiction]]
* [[Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Literature|United Kingdom}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[British Library]]
* [[British regional literature]]
* [[Early Modern English]]
* [[English poetry]]
* [[English drama]]
* [[English novel]]
* [[List of English novelists]]
* [[List of English writers]]
* [[Literature of Northern Ireland]]
* [[List of writers of Northern Ireland]]
* [[Scottish literature]]
* [[Scottish poetry]]
* [[Theatre of Scotland]]
* [[Scottish Renaissance]]
* [[History of the Scots language]]
* [[List of Scottish writers]]
* [[Literature of Shetland]]
* [[Theatre of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Welsh literature in English]]
* [[Welsh poetry]]
* [[List of Welsh writers]]
* [[Theatre of Wales]]
* [[Women's writing in English]]
* [[Literature of Birmingham]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
===Works cited===
* {{Citation |last=Bate |first=Walter Jackson |author-link=Walter Jackson Bate |title=Samuel Johnson |year=1977 |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |location=New York |isbn=978-0-15-179260-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/samueljohnson000bate}}
* {{cite book |title=Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth |last=Bradley |first=A.C. |author-link=A. C. Bradley |publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin]] |location=London |year=1991 |orig-year=1904 |isbn=978-0-14-053019-3}}
* {{cite book |title=Shakspere |url=https://archive.org/details/shakspere01dowdgoog |last=Dowden |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Dowden |publisher=[[D. Appleton & Company]] |location=New York |year=1881 |oclc=8164385 |ol=6461529M}}
* {{cite book |title=Shakespeare's Tragic Sequence |last=Muir |first=Kenneth |author-link=Kenneth Muir (scholar) |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |year=2005 |orig-year=1979 |isbn=978-0-415-35325-0}}

===Further reading===
* Partridge, A. C. ''Tudor to Augustan English: a Study in Syntax and Style, from Caxton to Johnson'', in series, ''The Language Library''. London: A. Deutsch, 1969. 242 p. Without SBN or ISBN
* ''The Oxford History of English Literature'' (in 15 vols.) Oxford: Clarendon Press, reprinted 1990–97.

==External links==
* {{wikisource-inline|Portal:British literature|British literature}}

{{United Kingdom topics}}
{{English literature}}
{{Scottish literature}}
{{Literature of Europe}}

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