This volume is a compilation of references and allusions to Chaucer from the beginning of the English Civil War to the beginning of the eighteenth century. Chaucer’s Fame in Britannia 1641–1700 is a continuation of Jackson Campbell Boswell and Sylvia Wallace Holton’s Chaucer’s Fame in England: 1475–1640. Both books are meant to supplement the equivalent parts of Caroline Spurgeon’s invaluable Five Hundred Years of Chaucer Criticism and Allusion 1357–1900. Together, the two volumes considerably expand previous work in this area and offer a substantial contribution to intellectual history that gives us a much fuller and more profound understanding of Chaucer’s influence (and of his uses) during the period covered. Together, these volumes are a massive expansion of Spurgeon’s work. The references and allusions are full and, when possible, complete. Chaucer’s Fame in England: 1475–1640 has proven to be essential for those interested in the afterlives of Chaucer, and Chaucer’s Fame in Britannia 1641–1700 will take a similar place alongside its companion volume.
