This is a completely updated and expanded second edition of the wide-ranging and accessible Routledge History of Literature in English. It covers the main developments in the history of British and Irish literature and has extensive accompanying language notes which explore the inter-relationships between language and literature. With a span from AD 600 to the present day, it emphasizes the growth of literary writing, its traditions, conventions, and changing characteristics, and includes literature from margins, both geographical and cultural. Extensive quotes from poetry, prose, and drama underpin the narrative.