The first biography of Milton based on original research for 40 years, and first to take account of new thinking about 17th-century England.

At the same time, McDowell presents fresh, richly contextual readings of Milton’s best-known works from this period, including the “Nativity Ode,” “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso,” Comus, and “Lycidas.” Challenging ...

The facts of John Milton's life are well documented, but what of the person Milton—the man whose poetic and prose works have been deeply influential and are still the subject of opposing readings?

Written with exceptional clarity, Down to Earth re-envisions the story of America "from the ground up.

Now, however, he has become a literary institution—intimidating rather than inspiring. In Making Darkness Light, Oxford professor Joe Moshenska rediscovers a poet whose rich contradictions confound his monumental image.