View source for The Cambridge History of English and American Literature

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{infobox book
| name = The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
| image = The.Cambridge.History.of.English.and.American.Literature.gif
| alt = A seal depicting a crowned naked woman holding a goblet in her left hand and a skull in her right, standing in front of a desk with the words "Alma mata Cantabria" on it. The seal is surrounded by the words "Hinc lucem et pocula sacra".
| language = English
| subject = Literature
| genre = [[Literary criticism]]
| published = {{ubl|[[Cambridge University Press]]|[[Bartleby.com]]}}
| pub_date = {{ubl|{{Start date|1907}}–{{End date|1921}}&nbsp;(print)| {{Start date|2000}}&nbsp;(online)}}
| pages = 11,013
| isbn = 1-58734-073-9
| caption = Seal of the encyclopedia
}}
'''''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature''''' is an [[encyclopedia]] of [[literary criticism]] that was published by [[Cambridge University Press]] between 1907 and 1921.<ref>[http://www.nla.gov.au/pathways/jnls/newsite/view/670.html Cambridge History of English and American Literature], [[National Library of Australia]].</ref>
== Contributions and publications ==

Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and thinkers of the early 20th century, its 18 volumes comprise 303 chapters and more than 11,000 pages. The English literature chapters begin with [[Old English poetry]] and end with the late [[Victorian era]]. Coverage of American literature ranges from [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial]] and [[American Revolution|revolutionary]] periods through the early 20th century.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

[[Adolphus William Ward|A. W. Ward]] and [[Alfred Rayney Waller|A. R. Waller]] were editors-in-chief of the 14 volumes and an additional index volume on English literature.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Ward |editor-given=A. W. |editor-surname2=Waller |editor-given2=A. R. |editor-link=Adolphus William Ward |editor-link2=Alfred Rayney Waller |title=The Cambridge History of English Literature |volume=1–14 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1907–1916 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001370700}}</ref> [[William Peterfield Trent]], [[John Erskine (educator)|John Erskine]], [[Stuart P. Sherman|Stuart Sherman]] and [[Carl Clinton Van Doren|Carl Van Doren]] were the editors-in-chief of the four volumes on American literature. The four volumes on American literature were published in [[Cambridge]], England by Cambridge University Press and by [[G. P. Putnam's Sons]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Trent |editor-given=W. P. |editor-surname2=Erskine |editor-given2=J. |editor-surname3=Sherman |editor-given3=S. P. |editor-surname4=Van Doren |editor-given4=C. |editor-link=William Peterfield Trent |editor-link2=John Erskine (educator) |editor-link3=Stuart P. Sherman |editor-link4=Carl Clinton Van Doren |title=The Cambridge History of American Literature |volume=1–4 |place=Cambridge; New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press; G. P. Putnam's Sons |year=1917–1921 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000818365}}</ref>

==Online publication, reception and range==
[[Bartleby.com]] published the complete work online in the year 2000,<ref name=":0">[http://www.bartleby.com/cambridge/ ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature''], [[Bartleby.com]].</ref> dividing it into over 5,600 files, and including indexes by chapter, bibliography, and chapter author. It contains biographical information and bibliographies on major individuals and literary movements. It is "considered the most important work of literary history and criticism ever published", its "topics ranging from poetry, fiction, drama and essays to history, theology and political writing."<ref name=":0" /> The encyclopedia's scope is vast, encompassing "a wide selection of writing on orators, humorists, poets, newspaper columnists, religious leaders, economists, Native Americans, songwriters, and even non-English writing, such as [[Yiddish]] and [[Creole language|Creole]]".<ref name=":0" />
==Sections==
{| class="wikitable"
! Volume !! Title !! Collection
|-
|I.
|From the Beginnings to the Cycles of Romance.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|II.
|The End of the Middle Ages.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|III.
|Renascence and Reformation.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|IV.
|Prose and Poetry from Sir Thomas North to Michael Drayton.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|V.
|The Drama to 1642: Part I.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|VI.
|The Drama to 1642: Part II.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|VII.
|Cavalier and Puritan.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|VIII.
|The Age of Dryden.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|IX.
|From Steele and Addison to Pope and Swift.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|X.
|The Age of Johnson.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|XI.
|The Period of the French Revolution.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|XII.
|The Romantic Revival.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|XIII.
|The Victorian Age: Part I.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|XIV.
|The Victorian Age: Part II.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of English Literature">English</abbr>
|-
|XV.
|Colonial and Revolutionary Literature.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of American Literature ">American</abbr>
|-
| 
|Early National Literature: Part I.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of American Literature ">American</abbr>
|-
|XVI.
|Early National Literature: Part II.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of American Literature ">American</abbr>
|-
| 
|Later National Literature: Part I.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of American Literature ">American</abbr>
|-
|XVII.
|Later National Literature: Part II.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of American Literature ">American</abbr>
|-
|XVIII.
|Later National Literature: Part III.
|<abbr title="The Cambridge History of American Literature ">American</abbr>
|}

== See also ==
* [[The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain]]
* [[The Cambridge History of the English Language]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|The Cambridge History of American Literature|''The Cambridge History of American Literature''}}
*''[http://www.bartleby.com/cambridge/ The Cambridge History of English and American Literature: an Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes]'' on [[Bartleby.com]]
*''[http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp31164 The Cambridge History of English and American Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes]'' on the website of the [[University of Pennsylvania]]

{{Cambridge History series}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature''}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge History of English and American Literature}}
[[Category:1907 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:1921 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:British non-fiction literature]]
[[Category:History of literature in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cambridge University Press books|History of English and American Literature]]
[[Category:American non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Reference works in the public domain]]
[[Category:Free ebooks]]
[[Category:History of literature in the United States]]