Four Essays on Romance

In his introduction, Mr. Baker writes, "Although Romance, the dominant genre of secular literature throughout the later Middle Ages, has prompted floods of scholarship and speculation, it still bristles with unanswered problems of origin, development, and even definition." Helaine Newstead, Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College, contributes "Malory and Romance"; A. Bartlett Giamatti, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Yale University, "Spenser: From Magic to Miracle"; Norman Rabkin, Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, "The Holy Sinner and the Confidence Man: Illusion in Shakespeare's Romances"; and Barbara K. Lewaiski, Professor of English at Brown University, "Milton: Revaluations of Romance."