Description: Tracing the cultural legacy of the Norman Conquest in England from 1350 to 1600, Deanne Williams demonstrates how English literature emerged out of a simultaneous engagement with, and resistance to, the presence of French language and culture in medieval and early modern England. Chapters on Chaucer, the Corpus Christi Plays, William Caxton, early Tudor poetry, and Shakespeare examine a variety of English responses to, and representations of, France and "the French".
Brief description: Deanne Williams is Assistant Professor at the Department of English, York University, Toronto.
Review Quotes: "...the originality of the main thesis, the breadth of learning, the theoretical sophistication, and the conceptual vitality of Deanne Williams all contribute to make her book a reference work that advance courses in the field; it is a landmark study that will influence and redraw English Renaissance studies for a long time."
- Alexandre Leupin, Professor of French Studies at Louisiana State University