The Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work, enabling students and researchers to read for themselves, for example, comments on early performances of Shakespeare's plays, or reactions to the first publication of Jane Austen's novels. The carefully selected sources range from landmark essays in the history of criticism to journalism and contemporary opinion, and little published documentary material such as letters and diaries. Significant pieces of criticism from later periods are also included, in order to demonstrate the fluctuations in an author's reputation. Each volume contains an introduction to the writer's published works, a selected bibliography, and an index of works, authors and subjects. The Collected Critical Heritage will be available as a set of 68 volumes and the series will also be available in mini sets selected by period (in slipcase boxes) and as individual volumes.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION, BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE, THE PRINCIPAL EDITIONS OF CHAUCER’S ‘WORKS’ UP TO 1933 33 1 EUSTACHE DESCHAMPS, Great Ovid, c. 1385 2 THOMAS USK, Love praises the philosophical poet, c. 1387 3 JOHN GOWER, Venus sends greetings, c. 1390 4 JOHN LYDGATE, The Gothic poet, c. 1400–39 5 HENRY SCOGAN Moral Chaucer, c. 1407 6 JOHN WALTON, Olde poysees clerk, 1410 7 THOMAS HOCCLEVE, The disciple’s commemoration, 1412 8 JOHN METHAM, Chaucer’s ease, 1448–9 9 JOHN SHIRLEY, Gossip. Chaucer wrote for all those that be gentle of birth or of conditions, c. 1450 10 GEORGE ASHBY, Embelysshing oure englisshe, c. 1470 11 ROBERT HENRYSON, Who knows if all that worthy Chaucer wrote was true?, c. 1475 12 Inventory of Sir John Paston II, 1475–9 13 UNKNOWN, Word and thing, c. 1477 14 WILLIAM CAXTON, High and quick sentence, 1478, 1483, 1484 15 STEPHEN SURIGO, Chaucer’s Epitaph, 1479 16 JOHN PARMENTER’S Will, 1479 17 WILLIAM DUNBAR, Golden eloquence, c. 1503 18 STEPHEN HAWES, Virtuous, or glad and merry, 1506 19 JOHN SKELTON, Some sad storyes, some mery, c. 1507 20 GAVIN DOUGLAS, Venerabill Chauser, all woman is frend, 1513 21 WILLIAM TYNDALE, To corrupt the minds of youth, 1528 22 SIR BRIAN TUKE, Poets purify the dialect of the tribe, 1531 23 SIR THOMAS ELYOT, A discord, 1533 24 JOHN LELAND, A life for Chaucer, c. 1540 25 UNKNOWN, Chaucer wrote much to do us good, c. 1540 26 SIR THOMAS WYATT, Noble scorn, c. 1540 27 An Acte, 1542–3 28 PETER BETHAM, Plain English, 1543 29 ROGER ASCHAM, Chaucer our English Homer, 1545, 1552 30 PETER ASHTON, Chaucer’s words out of use, 1546 31 EDMUND BECKE, The Bible versus Canterbury Tales, 1549 32 THOMAS WILSON, The fine Courtier will talke nothyng but Chaucer, 1553 33 ROBERT BRAHAM, Divine Chaucer lived in a barbarous age, 1555 34 WALTER STEVINS, Wittie Chaucer, c. 1555 35 BARNABY GOOGE, Olde Ennius, 1565 36 JOHN FOXE, Industrious and fruitfully occupied in liberal studies, 1570 37 GEORGE GASCOIGNE, Riding Rhyme, 1575 38 UNKNOWN, Classic and heavenly, c. 1575 39 MEREDITH HANMER, Good decorum observed, 1576 40 GEORGE WHETSTONE, Sir Chaucer’s jests, 1578 41 EDMUND SPENSER, Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled, 1579, 1590–6, 1599 (1609) 42 EDWARD KIRKE, Loadestarre of our Language, 1579 43 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, Chaucer had great wants, 1581 44 JOHN HIGINS, Quaint, 1585 45 GABRIEL HARVEY, Exquisite artist and curious universal scholar, c. 1585, c. 1600 46 WILLIAM WEBBE, Profitable counsel mingled with delight, 1586 47 RICHARD (?) PUTTENHAM, The naturall of his pleasant wit, 1589 48 THOMAS NASHE, Chaucer liued vnder the tirranie of ignorance, 1589, 1952 49 SIR JOHN HARINGTON, Flat scrurrilitie, 1591 50 ROBERT GREENE (?), Poets wits are free, 1592 51 FRANCIS BEAUMONT, Ancient learned men in Cambridge, 1597 52 GEORGE CHAPMAN, Newe wordes, 1598 53 THOMAS SPEGHT, In most vnlearned times being much esteemed, 1598, 1602 54 RICHARD VERSTEGAN, Mingler of English with French, 1605 55 RICHARD BRATHWAIT, An excellent Epanodos, 1616 56 HENRY PEACHAM, A delicate kernell of conceit and sweet invention, 1622 57 JONATHAN SIDNAM (?), Obsolete, c. 1630 58 BRIAN WALKER, Believed the Bible to be as true as Chaucer, 1633 59 EDWARD FOULIS, Time can silence Chaucer’s tongue, 1635 60 SAMUEL PEPYS, A very fine poet, 1663, 1664 61 THOMAS SPRAT, A close, naked, natural way, 1665 62 SIR JOHN DENHAM, Morning Star, 1668 63 EDWARD PHILLIPS, Facetiousness and real worth, 1675 64 THOMAS RYMER, Will not speak of Chaucer, 1674 65 JOSEPH ADDISON, In vain he Jests, 1694 66 JOHN DRYDEN, God’s plenty, 1700 67 ALEXANDER POPE, The pleasure of Chaucer, 1711, 1728–30 68 JOHN HUGHES, Native Strength, 1715 69 DANIEL DEFOE, Not fit for modest Persons to read, 1718 70 AMBROSE PHILLIPS (?), Bright images, 1720 71 JOHN DART and WILLIAM THOMAS, Thus Chaucer painted Life, 1721, 1722 72 LEONARD WELSTED, Obsolete and unintelligible, 1724 73 JOHN ENTICK—THOMAS MORELL, No hyperbole, 1736 74 THOMAS MORELL, Noble fiction, 1737 75 ELIZABETH COOPER, Soaring in high Life, pleasant in low, 1737 76 GEORGE OGLE, Dramatic Characterisation, 1739 77 ASTROPHIL, Meer fictions for realities we take, 1740 78 THOMAS SEWARD, Gross expressions, 1750 79 SAMUEL JOHNSON, His diction was in general like that of his contemporaries, 1755, 1765 80 JOSEPH WARTON, Very sudden transitions from the sublime to the ridiculous, 1756, 1782 81 THOMAS GRAY, Circumstances alter, c. 1760 82 RICHARD HURD, Gothic and Neoclassical, 1762 83 THOMAS WARTON, The lustre and dignity of a true poet, 1774 84 THOMAS TYRWHITT, Intelligence and satisfaction, 1775 85 UNKNOWN, Wrote like a gentleman, 1778 86 JOHN PINKERTON, Chaucer and the Scots, 1786 87 WILLIAM GODWIN, Integrity and excellence of the author’s disposition, 1803 88 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, The lucid shafts of reason, 1805,1822 89 LORD BYRON, Obscene and contemptible, 1807 90 WILLIAM BLAKE, Names alter, things never, 1809 91 CHARLES LAMB, Comprehensiveness of genius, 1811 92 GEORGE CRABBE, Naked and unveiled character, 1812 93 JOHN GALT, Anything but poetry, 1812 94 GEORGE NOTT, Verses of cadence, 1815 95 WILLIAM HAZLITT, Chaucer attended chiefly to the real and natural, 1817, 1818 96 SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, Gothic Chaucer, 1818, 1834 97 THOMAS CAMPBELL, So strong a genius, 1819 98 UNKNOWN, An image of thoughtful intellectual cultivation, 1819 99 UNKNOWN, An essential portion of the authentic history of his country, 1823, 1825, 1826 100 WILLIAM ROSCOE, Illustrating the phenomena of the moral and physical world, 1824 101 ROBERT SOUTHEY, Original genius of the highest order, 1831 102 UNKNOWN, Chaucer became at once the poet of a people,1837 103 JOHN HIPPISLEY, The mature youth of poetry, 1837