Available Formats
Imaginary Plots and Political Realities in the Plays of William Congreve
By (Author) Maximillian E. Novak
Anthem Press
Anthem Press
30th June 2020
United Kingdom
Professional and Scholarly
Non Fiction
Literature: history and criticism
Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800
822.4
Hardback
144
Width 153mm, Height 229mm, Spine 26mm
454g
William Congreve was deeply involved in the events of his turbulent times. That involvement reveals itself in works which have sometimes been regarded as entirely unengaged with the realities of his society. This book attempts to read Congreve's plays and his novella, Incognita, against the political and social upheaval of the period initiated by the rebellion of 1688. A strong supporter of the new world ushered in by William III and Mary, Congreve fought against the reactionary politics of the Jacobite opposition.
Maximillian Novak is a research professor at the University of California Los Angeles and has published widely on the literature of the Restoration and eighteenth century.