Description

Book Synopsis
This book recovers places appearing in the mental mapping of medieval and Renaissance writers, from Chaucer to Aphra Behn.

  • A highly original work, which recovers the places that figure powerfully in premodern imagining.
  • Recreates places that appear in the works of Langland, Chaucer, Dante, Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Aphra Behn, and many others.
  • Begins with Calais peopled by the English from 1347 to 1558 and ends with Surinam traded for Manhattan by the English in 1667.
  • Other particular locations discussed include Flanders, Somerset, Genoa, and the Fortunate Islands (Canary Islands).
  • Includes fascinating anecdotes, such as the story of an English merchant learning love songs in Calais.
  • Provides insights into major historical narratives, such as race and slavery in Renaissance Europe.
  • Crosses the traditional divide between the medi

    Trade Review
    “David Wallace’s knowledge of European medieval literature is unequalled. His book is a cornucopia of illuminating details, insights and connections that are simply not to be found anywhere else.” Terry Jones


    “My Cinderella prize for the year’s most underrated book goes to David Wallace, whose Premodern Places mixes romance and bizarrerie in a study of medieval and Renaissance ideas about geography and locality.” Jonathan Keates, The Spectator 'Book of the Year' feature, 2004


    “This is one of the sharpest and most imaginative books of literary criticism I've read in many years.” Peter Hulme, University of Essex


    “Offering illuminating genealogies for a range of authors and literary texts, Premodern Places radically questions many assumptions about historical as well as geographic boundaries. … this book asks both premodernists and postcolonialists to rethink their disciplines and make urgent connections across space and time.” Ania Loomba, University of Pennsylvania


    “… a most brilliant representative of Postcolonial Medieval Studies.” José Rabasa, University of California



    Table of Contents
    List of illustrations.

    Introduction.

    1. At Calais Gate.

    2. In Flaunders.

    3. Dante in Somerset.

    4. Genoa.

    5. Canaries (The Fortunate Islands).

    6. Surinam.

    Acknowledgments.

    Index

Premodern Places

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    A Hardback by David Wallace

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      Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
      Publication Date: 23/07/2004
      ISBN13: 9781405113939, 978-1405113939
      ISBN10: 1405113936
      Also in:
      Literary theory

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      This book recovers places appearing in the mental mapping of medieval and Renaissance writers, from Chaucer to Aphra Behn.

      • A highly original work, which recovers the places that figure powerfully in premodern imagining.
      • Recreates places that appear in the works of Langland, Chaucer, Dante, Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Aphra Behn, and many others.
      • Begins with Calais peopled by the English from 1347 to 1558 and ends with Surinam traded for Manhattan by the English in 1667.
      • Other particular locations discussed include Flanders, Somerset, Genoa, and the Fortunate Islands (Canary Islands).
      • Includes fascinating anecdotes, such as the story of an English merchant learning love songs in Calais.
      • Provides insights into major historical narratives, such as race and slavery in Renaissance Europe.
      • Crosses the traditional divide between the medi

        Trade Review
        “David Wallace’s knowledge of European medieval literature is unequalled. His book is a cornucopia of illuminating details, insights and connections that are simply not to be found anywhere else.” Terry Jones


        “My Cinderella prize for the year’s most underrated book goes to David Wallace, whose Premodern Places mixes romance and bizarrerie in a study of medieval and Renaissance ideas about geography and locality.” Jonathan Keates, The Spectator 'Book of the Year' feature, 2004


        “This is one of the sharpest and most imaginative books of literary criticism I've read in many years.” Peter Hulme, University of Essex


        “Offering illuminating genealogies for a range of authors and literary texts, Premodern Places radically questions many assumptions about historical as well as geographic boundaries. … this book asks both premodernists and postcolonialists to rethink their disciplines and make urgent connections across space and time.” Ania Loomba, University of Pennsylvania


        “… a most brilliant representative of Postcolonial Medieval Studies.” José Rabasa, University of California



        Table of Contents
        List of illustrations.

        Introduction.

        1. At Calais Gate.

        2. In Flaunders.

        3. Dante in Somerset.

        4. Genoa.

        5. Canaries (The Fortunate Islands).

        6. Surinam.

        Acknowledgments.

        Index

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