Writings of Exile in the English Revolution and Restoration

Offering fresh interpretations of exile in the English Revolution and Restoration, this study explores the personal, political and religious ramifications of displacement, and shines a torch on the rich variety of literary modes through which it is articulated. Examining previously unstudied as well as canonical writings, it challenges conventional paradigms positing neat dividing lines of chronology, geography and allegiance in this seminal period of British and American history.

Writings of Exile in the English Revolution and Restoration opens a window onto exile in the years 1640-1680, as it is experienced across a broad spectrum of political and religious allegiances, and communicated through a rich variety of genres. Examining previously undiscovered and understudied as well as canonical writings, it challenges conventional paradigms which assume a neat demarcation of chronology, geography and allegiance in this seminal period of British and American history. Crossing disciplinary lines, it casts new light on how the ruptures -- and in some cases liberation -- of exile in these years both reflected and informed events in the public sphere. It also lays bare the personal, psychological and familial repercussions of exile, and their attendant literary modes, in terms of both inner, mental withdrawal and physical displacement.