Gary Day is Principal Lecturer in English at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Bridget Keegan is Professor of English at Creighton University, USA.

"Here is a warm welcome for any student encountering eighteenth-century literature for the first time. This lively and practical handbook opens the door on a wealth of materials to engage them and set them thinking for themselves. The range of critical approaches and the mix of context and analysis make for a volume that introduces rather than packages." - Professor David Fairer, University of Leeds, UK

• General Editors' Introduction; 1. Introduction - Gary Day & Bridget Keegan Timeline, Gemma Palmer (De Montfort University); 2. Contexts, Identities and Consumption: Britain 1688-1815, R. M. Larsen (University of Derby); 3. Literary and Cultural Contexts: Major Figures, Institutions, Topics, Events, Movements, Gavin Budge (University of Central England); 4. Case Studies in Reading 1: Key Primary Literary Texts, Anne Chandler (Southern Illinois University-Carbondale); 5. Case Studies in Reading 2: Key Theoretical and Critical Texts, Bridget Keegan (Creighton University); 6. Key Critical Concepts and Topics, Richard Terry (University of Sunderland); 7. 'Dead Keen on Reason?' Changes in Critical Responses and Approaches to the Eighteenth Century, Philip Smallwood (University of Central England); 8. Questioning Canonicity, Bridget Keegan (Creighton University) and Amber Haschenburger; 9. Issues of Sexuality, Gender and Ethnicity, Chris Mounsey (King Alfred's College Winchester); 10. The Future of Eighteenth-Century Studies, Donna Landry (University of Kent); Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terminology, Teresa Barnard (De Montfort University); Annotated Bibliography; Appendix: Teaching and Learning Strategies, Ian McCormick (University of Northampton); Notes on Contributors; Index.