This is a collection of nine essays by senior scholars Donald Greene, Morris R. Brownell, Richard B. Schwartz, Howard D. Weinbrot, Maximillian Novak, J. Paul Hunter, John H. Middendorf, Shirley Strum Kenny, and Gwin J. Kolb.

They draw from their own experiences as students and scholars to assess the past and present position of theoryin eighteenth-century studies and to discuss the important areas of scholarship that remain relatively unexplored, often proposing specific projects. Some essays are controversial; all are lively and personal.

The essays evolved from a 1987 conference held at Georgetown Universitythe first such conference to examine the state of eighteenth-century literary studies in fifteen years."