Arts and arms

About this book

"This study examines the political controversies of the Seven Years War as reflected in contemporary British poetry, ballads, fiction, drama and prose satire. It investigates their authorship, patronage, publication and distribution, including dissemination through the press and with political prints. Literary works demonstrate a great diversity in authorship and political sophistication, with patrons and writers extending from members of the parliamentary classes through the professional and commercial orders, to semi-literate ballad singers. Genres range from high political satire and parodies of parliamentary debates to popular ballads and verse graffiti. They reveal a thriving literary-political culture, which embraced all stations of society." "Literary sources are placed in a close political context by testing the accuracy of the information they conveyed against the correspondence and memoirs of politicians, and parliamentary debates. The degree to which literature not only recorded, but also helped to shape political attitudes, is explored by reference to these and other manifestations of opinion, such as popular protest and extra-parliamentary initiative."--BOOK JACKET.