This volume is ideally suited for use as a companion volume in survey courses where the instructor has decided against using a large anthology. It provides an overview of British literature in its social and historical context from the age of Romanticism through to the twentieth century and beyond. It traces literary developments in all genres, and touches as well on key developments in the history of the language and the history of print culture. It also provides essential historical background for those unfamiliar with the unfolding of British political, social, economic, and cultural history during these periods. Included are a wide variety of illustrations, 24 of which are color plates.

The material for British Literature: A Historical Overview has been drawn from the general introductions to the six volumes of the acclaimed Broadview Anthology of British Literature. A Historical Overview, Volume A is also available; this covers the medieval period through the eighteenth century.