Overview

The Ranters - like the Levellers and the Diggers - were a group of religious libertarians who flourished during the English Civil War (1642-1651), a period of social and religious turmoil which saw, in the words of the historian Christopher Hill, 'the world turned upside down'. A Collection of Ranter Writings is the most notable attempt to anthologise the key Ranter writings, bringing together some of the most remarkable, visionary and unforgettable texts. The subjects range from the limits to pleasure and divine right, to social justice and collective action. The Ranters have intrigued and captivated generations of scholars and philosophers. This carefully curated collection will be of great interest to historians, philosophers and all those trying to understand past radical traditions.

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Reviews

As a primer in the strangeness of radical thought during the period, as well as a wildly entertaining (if slightly crazed) read. Nigel Smith is to be congratulated for bringing these writings together for the first time in one volume. -- History Today This splended edition of Ranter writings covers the whole range of their politics and theology and shows the movement developing over time. Smith preserves the Ranters' highly distinctive spelling and orthography... A fascinating and exhilarating read. -- Edinburgh Review Admirable and lively.

Nigel Smith is to be congratulated for bringing these writings together for the first time in one volume. -- History Today This splended edition of Ranter writings covers the whole range of their politics and theology and shows the movement developing over time. Smith preserves the Ranters' highly distinctive spelling and orthography... A fascinating and exhilarating read. -- Edinburgh Review

'As a primer in the strangeness of radical thought during the period, as well as a wildly entertaining (if slightly crazed) read' -- Times Literary Supplement 'Nigel Smith is to be congratulated for bringing these writings together for the first time in one volume' -- History Today 'This splendid edition of Ranter writings covers the whole range of their politics and theology and shows the movement developing over time. Smith preserves the Ranters' highly distinctive spelling and orthography ... A fascinating and exhilarating read' -- Edinburgh Review 'Admirable and lively' -- The Tablet

Nigel smith is to be congratulated for bringing these writings together for the first time in one volume. -- History Today This splended edition of Ranter writings covers the whole range of their politics and theology and shows the movement developing over time. Smith preserves the Ranters' highly distinctive spelling and orthography... A fascinating and exhilarating read. -- Edinburgh Review

Author Information

Nigel Smith is William and Annie S. Paton Foundation Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature at Princeton University. His books include A Collection of Ranter Writings (Pluto, 2014), Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon (2010), and Is Milton better than Shakespeare? (2008), Harvard University Press. John Carey is a British literary critic, and post-retirement emeritus Merton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford. He contributed the foreword to A Collection of Ranter Writings (Pluto, 2014).

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