Nigel Smith
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300112214
- eISBN:
- 9780300168396
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300112214.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
The seventeenth-century poet Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) is one of the most intriguing figures in English literature. A noted civil servant under Cromwell's Protectorate, he has been variously ...
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The seventeenth-century poet Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) is one of the most intriguing figures in English literature. A noted civil servant under Cromwell's Protectorate, he has been variously identified as a patriot, spy, conspirator, concealed homosexual, father to the liberal tradition, and incendiary satirical pamphleteer and freethinker. But while Marvell's poetry and prose have attracted a wide modern following, his prose is known only to specialists, and much of his personal life remains shrouded in mystery. This biography provides a look into Marvell's life, from his early employment as a tutor and gentleman's companion to his suspicious death, reputedly a politically fueled poisoning. Drawing on exhaustive archival research, the voluminous corpus of Marvell's previously little-known writing, and recent scholarship across several disciplines, the author's portrait becomes the definitive account of this elusive life.Less
The seventeenth-century poet Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) is one of the most intriguing figures in English literature. A noted civil servant under Cromwell's Protectorate, he has been variously identified as a patriot, spy, conspirator, concealed homosexual, father to the liberal tradition, and incendiary satirical pamphleteer and freethinker. But while Marvell's poetry and prose have attracted a wide modern following, his prose is known only to specialists, and much of his personal life remains shrouded in mystery. This biography provides a look into Marvell's life, from his early employment as a tutor and gentleman's companion to his suspicious death, reputedly a politically fueled poisoning. Drawing on exhaustive archival research, the voluminous corpus of Marvell's previously little-known writing, and recent scholarship across several disciplines, the author's portrait becomes the definitive account of this elusive life.
