-
1955 BCE
Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American
Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American is set in contemporary Vietnam and foresees troubles ahead -
1611 BCE
Shakespeare's last completed play,
Shakespeare's last completed play, The Tempest, is performed -
1387 BCE
100 Canterbury Tales
Chaucer begins an ambitious scheme for 100 Canterbury Tales, of which he completes only 24 by the time of his death -
1367 BCE
Piers Plowman
A narrator who calls himself Will, and whose name may be Langland, begins the epic poem of Piers Plowman. One of four new yeomen of the chamber in Edward III's household is Geoffrey Chaucer -
1340 BCE
Ockham's Razor
William of Ockham advocates paring down arguments to their essentials, an approach later known as Ockham's Razor -
1300 BCE
Duns Scotus
Duns Scotus, known as the Subtle Doctor in medieval times, later provides humanists with the name Dunsman or dunce -
950 BCE
The material of the Eddas
The material of the Eddas, taking shape in Iceland, derives from earlier sources in Norway, Britain and Burgundy -
800 BCE
Germanic literature
Beowulf, the first great work of Germanic literature, mingles the legends of Scandinavia with the experience in England of Angles and Saxons -
731
History of the English church and people
The Venerable Bede, in his monastery at Jarrow, completes his history of the English church and people -
1375
King Arthur
The courtly poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells of a mysterious visitor to the round table of King Arthur -
1385
Troilus and Criseyde
Chaucer completes Troilus and Criseyde, his long poem about a legendary love affair in ancient Troy -
1469
Morte d'Arthur
Thomas Malory, in gaol somewhere in England, compiles Morte d'Arthur – an English account of the French tales of King Arthur -
1510
Christian humanism
Erasmus and Thomas More take the northern Renaissance in the direction of Christian humanism -
1524
William Tyndale
William Tyndale studies in the university at Wittenberg and plans to translate the Bible into English -
1549
Thomas Cranmer
The first version of the English prayer book, or Book of Common Prayer, is published with text by Thomas Cranmer -
1564
Marlowe and Shakespeare
Marlowe and Shakespeare are born in the same year, with Marlowe the older by two months -
1567
The Book of Common Prayer and the New Testament
The Book of Common Prayer and the New Testament are published in Welsh, to be followed by the complete Bible in 1588 -
1582
William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway
The 18-year-old William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway in Stratford-upon-Avon -
Tamburlaine the Great
Marlowe's first play, Tamburlaine the Great, introduces the swaggering blank verse of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama -
Edmund Spenser celebrates the Protestant Elizabeth I
English poet Edmund Spenser celebrates the Protestant Elizabeth I as The Faerie Queene -
Shakespeare achieves his first masterpiece
After tentative beginnings in the three parts of Henry VI, Shakespeare achieves his first masterpiece on stage with Richard III -
Shakespeare's central character in Hamlet
Shakespeare's central character in Hamlet expresses both the ideals of the Renaissance and the disillusion of a less confident age -
Authorized version of the Bible
James I commissions the Authorized version of the Bible, which is completed by forty-seven scholars in seven years -
The Masque of Blackness
Ben Jonson writes The Masque of Blackness, the first of his many masques for the court of James I -
The satirical voice of the English playwright Ben Jonson
The satirical voice of the English playwright Ben Jonson is heard to powerful effect in Volpone -
Shakespeare's sonnets
Shakespeare's sonnets, written ten years previously, are published -
Period: to
John Smith publishes A Description of New England and William Shakespeare dies at New Place
John Smith publishes A Description of New England, an account of his exploration of the region in 1614 William Shakespeare dies at New Place, his home in Stratford-upon-Avon, and is buried in Holy Trinity Church -
John Donne
John Donne, England's leading Metaphysical poet, becomes dean of St Paul's -
Thirty-six Shakespeare plays
John Heminge and Henry Condell publish thirty-six Shakespeare plays in the First Folio -
George Herbert' poems
George Herbert's only volume of poems, The Temple, is published posthumously -
John Milton's Lycidas
John Milton's Lycidas is published in memory of a Cambridge friend, Edward King -
The poems of Massachusetts
The poems of Massachusetts author Anne Bradstreet are published in London under the title The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America -
The Compleat Angler
Devoted fisherman Izaak Walton publishes the classic work on the subject, The Compleat Angler -
Samuel Pepys gets up late
On the first day of the new year Samuel Pepys gets up late, eats the remains of the turkey and begins his diary -
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is published, earning its author John Milton just £10 -
Samuel Pepys ends his diary
Samuel Pepys ends his diary, after only writing it for nine years -
The Pilgrim's progress
Part I of The Pilgrim's Progress, written during John Bunyan's two spells in Bedford Gaol, is published and is immediately popular -
Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko
Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko makes an early protest against the inhumanity of the African slave trade -
John Locke publishes his Essay concerning Human Understanding
John Locke publishes his Essay concerning Human Understanding, arguing that all knowledge is based on experience -
Agustan's age begins
The Augustan Age begins in English literature, claiming comparison with the equivalent flowering under Augustus Caesar -
The Tatler launches a new style
The Tatler launches a new style of journalism in Britain's coffee houses, followed two years later by the Spectator -
George Berkeley attacks Locke
25-year-old George Berkeley attacks Locke in his Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge -
The rape of Lock
Alexander Pope's Rape of the Lock introduces a delicate vein of mock-heroic in English poetry -
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, with its detailed realism, can be seen as the first English novel -
Gulliver's Travels
Jonathan Swift sends his hero on a series of bitterly satirical travels in Gulliver's Travels -
David Hume publishes his Treatise of Human Nature
David Hume publishes his Treatise of Human Nature, in which he applies to the human mind the principles of experimental science -
Samuel Richardson's Clarissa begins the correspondence
Samuel Richardson's Clarissa begins the correspondence that grows into the longest novel in the English language -
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding introduces a character of lasting appeal in the lusty but good-hearted Tom Jones -
Thomas Gray publishes his Elegy
English poet Thomas Gray publishes his Elegy written in a Country Church Yard -
Dictionary of the English Language
Samuel Johnson publishes his magisterial Dictionary of the English Language -
James Woodforde's diary
James Woodforde, an English country parson with a love of food and wine, begins a detailed diary of everyday life -
Laurence Sterne publishes the first two volumes of Tristram Shandy,
Laurence Sterne publishes the first two volumes of Tristram Shandy, beginning with the scene at the hero's conception -
The medieval poet Ossian
Fingal, supposedly by the medieval poet Ossian, is a forgery in the spirit of the times by James MacPherson -
James Boswell meets Samuel Johnson
James Boswell meets Samuel Johnson for the first time, in the London bookshop of Thomas Davies -
English historian Edward Gibbon
English historian Edward Gibbon, sitting among ruins in Rome, conceives the idea of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire -
Encyclopaedia Britannica
A Society of Gentlemen in Scotland begins publication of the immensely successful Encyclopaedia Britannica -
Thomas Chatterton suicides
17-year-old Thomas Chatterton, later hailed as a significant poet, commits suicide in a London garret -
Oliver Goldsmith's play She Stoops
Oliver Goldsmith's play She Stoops to Conquer is produced in London's Covent Garden theatre -
Thomas Paine emigrates to America
Encouraged by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine emigrates to America and settles in Philadelphia -
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
English historian Edward Gibbon publishes the first volume of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire -
Richard Brinsley Sheridan's second play
Richard Brinsley Sheridan's second play, The School for Scandal, is an immediate success in London's Drury Lane theatre -
William Blake publishes Songs of Innocence
William Blake publishes Songs of Innocence, a volume of his poems with every page etched and illustrated by himself -
Anglo-Irish politician Edmund Burke publishes Reflections on the Revolution in France
Anglo-Irish politician Edmund Burke publishes Reflections on the Revolution in France, a blistering attack on recent events across the Channel -
Scottish poet Robert Burns publishes Tam o' Shanter
Scottish poet Robert Burns publishes Tam o' Shanter, in which a drunken farmer has an alarming encounter with witches -
English author Mary Wollstonecraft publishes a passionately feminist work
English author Mary Wollstonecraft publishes a passionately feminist work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman -
Poem 'Tyger! Tyger! burning bright'
William Blake's volume Songs of Innocence and Experience includes his poem 'Tyger! Tyger! burning bright' -
Thomas Paine publishes his completed Age of Reason
Thomas Paine publishes his completed Age of Reason, an attack on conventional Christianity -
Samuel Taylor Coleridge says that while writing Kubla Khan he is interrupted
Samuel Taylor Coleridge says that while writing Kubla Khan he is interrupted by 'a person on business from Porlock' -
Lyrical Ballads
English poets Wordsworth and Coleridge jointly publish Lyrical Ballads, a milestone in the Romantic movement -
William Blake includes his poem 'Jerusalem'
William Blake includes his poem 'Jerusalem' in the Preface to his book Milton -
Walter Scott publishes The Lay of the Last Minstrel
Walter Scott publishes The Lay of the Last Minstrel, the long romantic poem that first brings him fame -
Walter Scott's poem Lady of the Lake brings tourists
Walter Scott's poem Lady of the Lake brings tourists in unprecedented numbers to Scotland's Loch Katrine -
Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from Oxford university
Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from Oxford university for circulating a pamphlet with the title The Necessity of Atheism -
The first two cantos are published
The first two cantos are published of Byron's largely autobiographical poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bringing him immediate fame -
Jane Austen's novels are published
Pride and Prejudice, based on a youthful work of 1797 called First Impressions, is the second of Jane Austen's novels to be published -
Percy Bysshe Shelley publishes probably his best-known poem
Percy Bysshe Shelley publishes probably his best-known poem, the sonnet Ozymandias -
William Cobbett brings back to England the bones of Thomas Paine
William Cobbett brings back to England the bones of Thomas Paine, who died in the USA in 1809 -
John Keats publishes Ode to a Nightingale
English poet John Keats publishes Ode to a Nightingale, inspired by the bird's song in his Hampstead garden -
Thomas De Quincey publishes his autobiographical Confessions
English author Thomas De Quincey publishes his autobiographical Confessions of an English Opium-Eater -
Charles Dickens works in London
12-year-old Charles Dickens works in London in Warren's boot-blacking factory -
Trollope ruffles transatlantic feathers with her Domestic Manners of the Americans
English author Frances Trollope ruffles transatlantic feathers with her Domestic Manners of the Americans, based on a 3-year stay -
Charles Dickens begins monthly publication of his first work of fiction
24-year-old Charles Dickens begins monthly publication of his first work of fiction, Pickwick Papers (published in book form in 1837) -
Charles Dickens' first novel
Charles Dickens' first novel, Oliver Twist, begins monthly publication (in book form, 1838) -
Robert Browning publishes a vivid narrative poem
English poet Robert Browning publishes a vivid narrative poem about the terrible revenge of The Pied Piper of Hamelin -
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
Ebenezer Scrooge mends his ways just in time in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol -
Coningsby Benjamin Disraeli develops the theme of Conservatism uniting 'two nations
In his novel Coningsby Benjamin Disraeli develops the theme of Conservatism uniting 'two nations', the rich and the poor -
Friedrich Engels publishes The Condition
Friedrich Engels, after running a textile factory in Manchester, publishes The Condition of the Working Class in England -
Edward Lear publishes his Book of Nonsense
Edward Lear publishes his Book of Nonsense, consisting of limericks illustrated with his own cartoons -
William Makepeace Thackeray begins publication of his novel Vanity Fair
English author William Makepeace Thackeray begins publication of his novel Vanity Fair in monthly parts (book form 1848) -
Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë die
Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë die within a period of eight months -
Charles Dickens begins the publication in monthly numbers of David Copperfield
Charles Dickens begins the publication in monthly numbers of David Copperfield, his own favourite among his novels -
Alfred Tennyson's elegy for a friend
Alfred Tennyson's elegy for a friend, In Memoriam, captures perfectly the Victorian mood of heightened sensibility -
Peter Mark Roget publishes his dictionary of synonyms
London physician Peter Mark Roget publishes his dictionary of synonyms, the Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases -
Tennyson publishes a poem finding heroism
Within six weeks of the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimea, Tennyson publishes a poem finding heroism in the disaster -
Tennyson publishes a long narrative poem
Tennyson publishes a long narrative poem, Maud, a section of which ('Come into the garden, Maud') becomes famous as a song -
Thomas Hughes depicts the often brutal aspects of an English public school
In Tom Brown's Schooldays Thomas Hughes depicts the often brutal aspects of an English public school -
Charles Darwin puts forward the theory of evolution
Charles Darwin puts forward the theory of evolution in On the Origin of Species, the result of 20 years' research -
English author George Eliot wins fame with her first full-length novel
English author George Eliot wins fame with her first full-length novel, Adam Bede -
Charles Dickens publishes "Great Expectations"
Charles Dickens begins serial publication of his novel "Great Expectations" (in book form 1861) -
Mrs Henry Wood publishes her first novel
Mrs Henry Wood publishes her first novel, East Lynne, which becomes the basis of the most popular of all Victorian melodramas -
Oxford mathematician Lewis Carroll tells a story
Oxford mathematician Lewis Carroll tells 10-year-old Alice Liddell, on a boat trip, a story about her own adventures in Wonderland -
Charles Kingsley publishes an improving fantasy for young children
English author Charles Kingsley publishes an improving fantasy for young children, The Water-Babies -
Lewis Carroll publishes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll publishes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a development of the story he had told Alice Liddell three years earlier -
Algernon Swinburne scandalizes Victorian's first collection, Poems and Ballads
Algernon Swinburne scandalizes Victorian Britain with his first collection, Poems and Ballads -
George Eliot publishes Middlemarch
George Eliot publishes Middlemarch, in which Dorothea makes a disastrous marriage to the pedantic Edward Casaubon -
Thomas Hardy has his first success with his novel Far
English author Thomas Hardy has his first success with his novel Far from the Madding Crowd -
William Gladstone's pamphlet Bulgarian Horrors
William Gladstone's pamphlet Bulgarian Horrors, protesting at massacre by the Turks, sells 200,000 copies within a month -
Henry James's story Daisy Miller,
Henry James's story Daisy Miller, about an American girl abroad, brings him a new readership -
Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure story
Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure story, Treasure Island, features Long John Silver and Ben Gunn -
Explorer and orientalist Richard Burton begins publication
Explorer and orientalist Richard Burton begins publication of his multi-volume translation from the Arabic of The Arabian Nights -
Sherlock Holmes features in Conan Doyle's first novel
Sherlock Holmes features in Conan Doyle's first novel, A Study in Scarlet -
James Frazer publishes The Golden Bough
Scottish anthropologist James Frazer publishes The Golden Bough, a massive compilation of contemporary knowledge about ritual and religious custom -
Oscar Wilde's comedy Lady Windermere
Oscar Wilde's comedy Lady Windermere's Fan is a great success with audiences in London's St. James Theatre -
H.G. Wells publishes The Time Machine
H.G. Wells publishes The Time Machine, a story about a Time Traveller whose first stop on his journey is the year 802701 -
English author Bram Stoker publishes Dracula
English author Bram Stoker publishes Dracula, his gothic tale of vampirism in Transylvania -
E. Nesbit publishes The Story of the Treasure Seekers
E. Nesbit publishes The Story of the Treasure Seekers, introducing the Bastable family who feature in several of her books for children -
Beatrix Potter publishes The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Beatrix Potter publishes at her own expense The Tale of Peter Rabbit -
Henry James publishes The Golden Bowl
Henry James publishes his last completed novel, The Golden Bowl -
The first volume of the inexpensive Everyman's Library
The first volume of the inexpensive Everyman's Library is issued by Joseph Dent, a London publisher -
Wells' novel Ann Veronica is a determined example of the New Woman
The heroine of H.G. Wells' novel Ann Veronica is a determined example of the New Woman -
Lawrence launches his first novel, The White Peacock
D.H. Lawrence's career as a writer is launched with the publication of his first novel, The White Peacock -
Compton Mackenzie publishes his novel Sinister Street
Compton Mackenzie publishes the first volume of his autobiographical novel Sinister Street -
Somerset Maugham publishes his semi-autobiographical novel
Somerset Maugham publishes his semi-autobiographical novel Of Human Bondage -
Jeeves and Bertie Wooster make their first appearance in P.G.
Jeeves and Bertie Wooster make their first appearance in P.G. Wodehouse's The Man with Two Left Feet -
Maynard Keynes publishes a strong attack on the reparations
In The Economic Consequences of the Peace Maynard Keynes publishes a strong attack on the reparations demanded from Germany -
Ludwig Wittgenstein publishes his influential study of the philosophy of logic
Ludwig Wittgenstein publishes his influential study of the philosophy of logic, Tractatus Logico Philosophicus -
Lord Peter Wimsey makes his first appearance in Dorothy Sayers' Whose Body
The gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey makes his first appearance in Dorothy Sayers' Whose Body? -
Ivy Compton-Burnett finds her characteristic voice in her second novel
English writer Ivy Compton-Burnett finds her characteristic voice in her second novel, Pastors and Masters -
Tarka the Otter, a realistic story of the life and death
Henry Williamson wins a wide readership with Tarka the Otter, a realistic story of the life and death of an otter in Devon -
A High Wind in Jamaica
Richard Hughes publishes his first novel, A High Wind in Jamaica -
Woolf publishes the most fluid of her novels, The Waves
Virginia Woolf publishes the most fluid of her novels, The Waves, in which she tells the story through six interior monologues -
H.G. Wells publishes The Shape of Things to Come
H.G. Wells publishes The Shape of Things to Come, a novel in which he accurately predicts a renewal of world war -
British publisher Allen Lane launches a paperback series
British publisher Allen Lane launches a paperback series to which he gives the name Penguin Books -
The Road to Wigan Pier
George Orwell reveals the harsh realities of contemporary British life in The Road to Wigan Pier -
Christopher Isherwood publishes his novel Goodbye to Berlin
British author Christopher Isherwood publishes his novel Goodbye to Berlin, based on his own experiences in the city -
British author Rebecca West publishes an account of Yugoslavia
British author Rebecca West publishes an account of Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon -
Eliot's Four Quartets are brought together as a single volume
The separate poems forming T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets are brought together for the first time as a single volume, published in New York -
Mervyn Peake's trilogy of gothic novels
Titus Groan begins British author Mervyn Peake's trilogy of gothic novels -
Christopher Fry's verse drama The Lady's
Christopher Fry's verse drama The Lady's Not For Burning engages in high-spirited poetic word play -
Doris Lessing publishes her first novel
British author Doris Lessing publishes her first novel, The Grass is Singing -
Evelyn Waugh publishes Men at Arms
Evelyn Waugh publishes Men at Arms, the first novel in the Sword of Honour trilogy based on his wartime experiences -
Six-volume history The Second World War
Politician and author Winston Churchill completes his six-volume history The Second World War -
Publication of novel Alexandria Quartet
The publication of the novel Justine launches Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet -
John Betjeman publishes his long autobiographical poem
English poet John Betjeman publishes his long autobiographical poem Summoned by Bells -
Doris Lessing publishes an influential feminist novel
British author Doris Lessing publishes an influential feminist novel, The Golden Notebook -
A.S. Byatt publishes Shadow of a Sun
English author A.S. Byatt publishes her first novel, Shadow of a Sun -
Liverpool poets publish The Mersey Sound
Three young Liverpool poets publish a shared anthology under the title The Mersey Sound -
John Fowles publishes The French Lieutenant's Woman
English novelist John Fowles publishes The French Lieutenant's Woman, set in Lyme Regis in the 1860s -
Economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher publishes an influential economic tract
British economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher publishes an influential economic tract, Small is Beautiful -
Ruth Prawer Jhabwala wins the Booker Prize
English author Ruth Prawer Jhabwala wins the Booker Prize with her novel Heat and Dust -
Peter Shaffer plays about Mozart
Peter Shaffer's play about Mozart, Amadeus, has its premiere in London -
Nicholas Kaldor attacks monetarism in The Economic Consequences
British economist Nicholas Kaldor attacks monetarism in The Economic Consequences of Mrs Thatcher -
Benjamin Zephaniah publishes The Dread Affair
British Rasta poet Benjamin Zephaniah publishes his second collection as The Dread Affair -
Stephen Hawking explains the cosmos
British physicist Stephen Hawking explains the cosmos for the general reader in A Brief History of Time: from the Big Bang to Black Holes -
Racing Demon launches a trilogy on the British establishment
Racing Demon launches a trilogy on the British establishment by English playwright David Hare -
Pat Barker's trilogy of novels set during World War I
Regeneration is the first volume of English author Pat Barker's trilogy of novels set during World War I -
Sebastian Faulks publishes Birdsong
English novelist Sebastian Faulks publishes Birdsong, set partly in the trenches of World War I -
Louis de Bernières publishes Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Louis de Bernières publishes Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a love story set in Italian-occupied Cephalonia -
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
A schoolboy wizard performs his first tricks in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone -
Michael Frayn's play Copenhagen
Michael Frayn's play Copenhagen dramatizes the visit of Werner Heisenberg to Niels Bohr in wartime Denmark -
Philip Pullman's trilogy
The Amber Spyglass completes Philip Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials
