Ronald Carter and John McRae
The Routledge History of Literature in English. Britain & Ireland
With a Foreword by Malcolm Bradbury
London: Routledge, 1997. Pp. 584. £ 14.99
Reviewed by C. J. Ganter

To begin with, The Routledge History of Literature in English is more than merely an extended version of the Penguin Guide to English Literature, which the two authors had published earlier and which was specifically designed for teaching purposes. Here, too, while aiming at a much wider readership, in terms of readability and accessibility Ronald Carter and John McRae display a highly pedagogic sensitivity. In accordance with the Anita Brookner quote preceding the text, the authors intend to present a literary history that is not simply an “accumulation of notes,” but an example of “transparency” (v). Indeed, transparency is one of the merits of this literary history, which first and foremost shows in its structure.

The volume is arranged chronologically in seven chapters, starting with “The Beginnings of English: Old and Middle English 600-1485” (1-53) and ending with “The Twentieth Century: 1945 to the Present” (445-542), that is, 1995. The two chapters on the twentieth century make up about one-third of the book (covering 197 pages). This reflects the scarcity of written documents in the earlier periods and the steady and dramatic increase of printed matter up until our own age of postmodernism, “a much more accessible, open, internetted, globally communicating world” (xv), as Malcolm Bradbury, the renowned critic, scholar, and novelist, puts it in his incisive introduction to the book. The seven chapters are rounded out by a historical chronology (“Timelines”), compiled by collaborator Jeremy Hunter, and a list of all British and Irish Nobel Prize laureates for literature to date.

Each section of the book abounds in well-chosen extracts and direct quotations that effectively support the general explanations and illustrate the stylistics and thematic concerns of the writers dealt with. Owing to the fairly chronological arrangement, the genres of verse, drama, and narrative fiction are handled side by side. Linguistic and literary as well as historic breaks serve as demarcation lines. In order to highlight historic cornerstones, Carter and McRae insert a number of thought-provoking analogies; one example is the comparison of the social impact of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses to that of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (58).

Each chapter of the Routledge History is introduced by a highly useful section on historical and philosophical “Contexts and Conditions” and interspersed with up to five “Language Notes” which indicate significant linguistic transformations, as can be derived from written literary sources. The “Context” sections and most of the linguistic notes offer concise, but far-ranging, background information. The four language notes in “The Renaissance: 1485-1660” (57-126), for instance, elaborate on the vast influx of foreign words into the English lexicon, on the changing patterns of “thou” and “you,” on the diversity of traditions, political developments, and advancements that shaped the era, and finally on the impact of Bible translations on the Renaissance mind in general and on the British self-image in particular. These examples illustrate the scholarly depth underlying the authors’ overall intention to embed literary accomplishments safely into their historical, social, and cultural background-an approach propagated by the theorists of cultural studies, a field which has been gaining in importance in British academe for some time. Apparently, the theoretical premise of cultural studies to equally analyze both “high” and “low” culture has had some influence on the writing of this book, as can be seen in the section on “Genre Fiction” (398-400), which also deals with “escapist literature” (398), including crime fiction and spy novels.

Apart from cultural studies, the book mirrors other recent developments in literary criticism and theory. Here we find, for instance, Oscar Wilde included in the gay canon (310), and the increasing recognition of an écriture féminine (515-25). Even though female writers receive considerably more attention than in previous literary histories, the Routledge History never seriously questions the traditional canon: Dead White European Males such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, or Wordsworth loom as large as ever.

Considering the fact that Carter and McRae have subtitled their history Britain & Ireland, one cannot fail to notice a certain lack of balance, particularly with regard to the final chapter on the twentieth century. While the authors treat the contemporary Anglo-Irish novel in only one (!) page-oddly omitting eminent figures such as Jennifer Johnston, Bernard MacLaverty, and Joseph O’Connor-they devote more than four pages to the Anglo-Scottish novel, and this with a particular focus on the (disputable) literary merits of Irvine Welsh’s best-seller Trainspotting (1993). This can be seen as a concession to the popular taste of Generation X audiences, which were responsible for the overwhelming success of the cinematic version of Welsh’s novel.

In order to create “transparency” over an “accumulation of notes,” Carter and McRae have carefully avoided supplying their readers with any secondary sources or a hint at useful reference books. It would have been helpful if the sources of the many quotes featured had been given in the annotations, which, unfortunately, is not the case. From a scholarly point of view, it is equally disappointing that the book does not contain a bibliography either. Moreover, the index is limited to names and, thus, does not cover subjects, which further reduces the accessibility of the volume.

Regardless of these shortcomings, The Routledge History of Literature in English is by far one of the most cleverly designed and most readable literary histories published throughout the last few decades. Undoubtedly, the volume is a major achievement and an invaluable tool for anyone interested in quick access to the literary landmarks in the history of British and Irish literature written in English.