A survey of English literature from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, this edition represents essential works in genres, ranging from Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf to global twentieth-century classics. It contains concise glosses and annotations, period introductions, biographical headnotes, timelines and bibliographies.
A depiction of the thieves, informers, prostitutes and highwaymen thronging the slums and prisons of the corrupt London underworld that exposes the dark side of a corrupt and jaded society.