The Essential Prose of John Milton
  • Published: 15 March 2013
  • ISBN: 9780812983722
  • Imprint: Random House US Group
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 592
  • RRP: $59.99

The Essential Prose of John Milton

Buy from…
The Nile Mighty Ape BookHub Whitcoulls The Warehouse Paper Plus Fishpond Unity Books Find Local Retailers

Now in a beautifully coordinated Modern Library Classics edition, the definitive collection of Milton's prose for scholars.

Edited by William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen M. Fallon
 
The legendary author of Paradise Lost and other poems was also a superb and provocative prose writer. Culled from Modern Library’s definitive The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton, this indispensable collection, authoritatively annotated and updated for this new volume, now includes selections from Milton’s Commonplace Book and the complete text of The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates in addition to Milton’s letters, pamphlets, political tracts, and essays. Milton tackles diverse subjects and takes controversial positions, including notorious defenses of divorce and protests against censorship. With expert analysis, a chronology of the author’s life, clean layouts, and a comprehensive index, The Essential Prose of John Milton is an invaluable keepsake—a book bound to be a revelation for all readers of this monumental author.

“Meticulously edited, full of tactful annotations that set the stage for his work and his times, and bringing Milton, as a poet and a thinker, vividly alive before us.”—Robert Hass, former Poet Laureate of the United States
  • Published: 15 March 2013
  • ISBN: 9780812983722
  • Imprint: Random House US Group
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 592
  • RRP: $59.99
Categories:
Share…

About the author

John Milton

John Milton was born on 9 December 1608. He studied at St Paul's School and then at Christ's College, Cambridge. He wrote poetry in Latin and Italian as well as English and travelled in Italy between 1638 and 1639. He married Mary Powell in 1642 but their relationship quickly broke down and they lived apart until 1645. They had four children, three daughters and a son who died in infancy. During the Interregnum after the execution of Charles I, Milton worked for the civil service and wrote pamphlets in support of the new republic. He also began work on his masterpiece, Paradise Lost, as early as 1642. His first wife died in 1652 and he married again in 1656, although his second wife died not long afterwards in 1658. When the monarchy was restored in 1660 Milton was arrested but was released with a fine. In 1663 he married his third wife, Elizabeth Minshull and he is also thought to have finished Paradise Lost in this same year. He published the companion poem, Paradise Regained, in 1671.John Milton died on 8 November 1674.

Also by John Milton

Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
Areopagitica And Other Writings
Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and the Complete Shorter Poems
Paradise Lost and Other Poems
Poems of John Milton
See all

Praise for The Essential Prose of John Milton

Praise for The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton:

  • "A superb edition of the great poet, with modernized spelling, lucid introductions to each work, illuminating footnotes, and fresh prose translations of poems in Latin, Greek, and Italian. This will surely be the edition of choice for teachers, students, and general readers too." -- Leo Damrosch, Harvard University