The Cambridge History Of French Literature

the cambridge history of FRENCH LITERATURE From Occitan poetry to francophone writing produced in the Caribbean and North Africa, from intellectual history to current films, and from medieval manuscripts to bandes dessin´ees, this History covers French literature from its beginnings to the present day. With equal attention to all genres, historical periods, and registers, this is the most comprehensive guide to literature written in French ever produced in English, and the first in decades to offer such an array of topics and perspectives. Contributors attend to issues of orality, history, peripheries, visual culture, alterity, sexuality, religion, politics, autobiography, and testimony. The result is a collection that, despite the wide variety of topics and perspectives, presents a unified view of the richness of French-speaking cultures and gives support to the idea that French writing will continue to prosper in the twenty-first century as it adapts, adds to, and refocuses the rich legacy of its past. William Burgwinkle is a Reader in Old French and Occitan at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. Nicholas Hammond is a Reader in Early Modern French Theatre and Thought at the University of Cambridge. Emma Wilson is Professor of French Literature and the Visual Arts at the University of Cambridge. Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2011 Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2011 THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF FRENCH LITERATURE * Edited by WILLIAM BURGWINKLE, NICHOLAS HAMMOND, and EMMA WILSON Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2011 cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, S˜ao Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 8ru, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521897860  c Cambridge University Press 2011 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2011 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data The Cambridge history of French literature / edited by William Burgwinkle, Nicholas Hammond, Emma Wilson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-521-89786-0 (hardback) 1. French literature – History and criticism. I. Burgwinkle, William E., 1951– II. Hammond, Nicholas, 1963– III. W