British Literature to 1800

Karen Winstead, Nicholas Hoffman

© 2020 Karen Winstead, Nicholas Hoffman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of any license permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Pressbooks Publication

The Ohio State University

Columbus, OH 43210

United States

About the Cover 

The image is taken from the frontispiece of Olaudah Equiano’s 1789 autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Kidnapped and enslaved at the age of eleven in the Kingdom of Benin (present-day Nigeria), Equiano bought his freedom about a decade later. After a long career at sea, he settled in London, became a published author, and worked as an early abolitionist and an anti-poverty activist. His life and other narratives recounting the resilience and literary acumen of British writers of African descent will be covered in a bundle later in this textbook.

Fair Use 

Unless otherwise stated, all images included in this text carry a CC0 license. Where appropriate, attributions and links to the original work are provided. Transcriptions and translations are similarly attributed where appropriate.