A Nation Transformed: England after the Restoration

A Nation Transformed is a major collection of essays by a mix of young and eminent scholars of early modern English history, literature, and political thought. The fruit of an intense interdisciplinary two-day conference held at the Huntington Library, California, it asks whether and in what ways the culture and politics of early modern England was transformed by the second half of the seventeenth century. In sharp contrast to those who have emphasised continuity and the persistence of the ancien regime, the contributors argue that England in 1700 was profoundly different from what it had been in 1640. Essays in the volume deal with changes in natural philosophy, literature, religion, politics, political thought, and political economy. The fresh insights offered here, based on new and innovative research, will interest scholars and students of early modern history, Renaissance and Augustan literature, and historians of political thought.

• A revisionary interdisciplinary collection of essays including ‘cutting edge’ work from scholars in many disciplines • Emphasises conflict and change, as against the usual consensus and continuity, and insists (originally) on the modernity of Britain • Taken together the essays present an integrated picture of England after the Restoration

Introduction: modernity and later seventeenth-century England Alan Houston and Steve Pincus; 1. The question of secularisation Blair Worden; 2. ‘Meer religion’ and the ‘church-state’ of Restoration England: the impact and ideology of James II’s Declarations of indulgence Mark Knights; 3. Radicals, reformers and republicans: academic language and political discourse in Restoration London Gary DeKrey; 4. The family in the Exclusion Crisis: Locke vs. Filmer revisited Rachel Weil; 5. Understanding popular politics in Restoration Britain Tim Harris; 6. The war in heaven and the Miltonic sublime Nicholas von Maltzahn; 7. The Cowleyan Pindaric ode and sublime diversions Joshua Scodel; 8. Plays as property, 1660–1710 Paulina Kewes; 9. Republicanism, the politics of necessity, and the rule of law Alan Houston; 10. From holy cause to economic interest: the transformation of reason of state thinking in seventeenth-century England Steve Pincus; 11. Natural philosophy and political periodisation: interregnum, restoration, and revolution Barbara Shapiro.

‘ … an exhilarating and challenging discussion of the theme from various viewpoints.’ Lancet