The Oxford Handbook of John Donne presents scholars with the history of Donne studies and provides tools to orient scholarship in this field in the twenty-first century and beyond. Though profoundly historical in its orientation, the Handbook is not a summary of existing knowledge but a resource that reveals patterns of literary and historical attention and the new directions that these patterns enable or obstruct.
Part I -- Research resources in Donne Studies and why they they matter -- emphasizes the heuristic and practical orientation of the Handbook, examining prevailing assumptions and reviewing the specialized scholarly tools available. This section provides a brief evaluation and description of the scholarly strengths, shortcomings, and significance of each resource, focusing on a balanced evaluation of the opportunities and the hazards each offers.
Part II -- Donne's genres -- begins with an introduction that explores the significance and differentiation of the numerous genres in which Donne wrote, including discussion of the problems posed by his overlapping and bending of genres. Essays trace the conventions and histories of the genres concered and study the ways in which Donne's works confirm how and why his "fresh invention" illustrates his responses to the literary and non-literary contexts of their composition.
Part III -- Biographical and historical contexts -- creates perspective on what is known about Donne's life; shows how his life and writings epitomized and affected important controversial issues of his day; and brings to bear on Donne studies some of the most stimulating and creative ideas developed in recent decades by historians of early modern England.
Part IV -- Problems of literary interpretation that have been traditionally and generally important in Donne Studies -- introduces students and researchers to major critical debates affecting the reception of Donne from the 17th through to the 21st centuries.

Essays exploring different facets of the life and influence of Edmund Campion, the sixteenth-century Jesuit and martyr. This volume forms the first modern study of Edmund Campion, the Jesuit priest executed at Tyburn in 1581, and through him focuses on a theme that has been attracting growing interest among sixteenth-century historians: the passagefrom a Catholic to an Anglican England, and the resistance to this move. The essays collected here investigate the historical context of Campion's mission; different aspects of his writing and work; the network of colleagues withwhom he was in contact; his relationship with contemporaries such as Sir Philip Sidney; the effect of his English mission; and the legacy he left. THOMAS M. MCCOOG, S.J. is the Archivist of the British province of theSociety of Jesus and a member of the Jesuit Historical Institute at Rome. Contributors: FRANCISCO DE BORJA MEDINA, JOHN BOSSY, NANCY POLLARD BROWN, KATHERINE DUNCAN-JONES, DENNIS FLYNN, VICTOR HOULISTON, JOHN J. LAROCCA, COLM LENNON, DAVID LOADES, JAMES MCCONICA, THOMAS M. MCCOOG, THOMAS MAYER, MICHAEL QUESTIER, ALISON SHELL, MICHAEL E. WILLIAMS

The Oxford Handbook of John Donne presents scholars with the history of Donne studies and provides tools to orient scholarship in this field in the twenty-first century and beyond. Though profoundly historical in its orientation, the Handbook is not a summary of existing knowledge but a resource that reveals patterns of literary and historical attention and the new directions that these patterns enable or obstruct. Part I - Research resources in Donne Studies and why they they matter - emphasizes the heuristic and practical orientation of the Handbook, examining prevailing assumptions and reviewing the specialized scholarly tools available. This section provides a brief evaluation and description of the scholarly strengths, shortcomings, and significance of each resource, focusing on a balanced evaluation of the opportunities and the hazards each offers. Part II- - Donne's genres - begins with an introduction that explores the significance and differentiation of the numerous genres in which Donne wrote, including discussion of the problems posed by his overlapping and bending of genres. Essays trace the conventions and histories of the genres concered and study the ways in which Donne's works confirm how and why his 'fresh invention' illustrates his responses to the literary and non-literary contexts of their composition. Part III - Biographical and historical contexts- - creates perspective on what is known about Donne's life; shows how his life and writings epitomized and affected important controversial issues of his day; and brings to bear on Donne studies some of the most stimulating and creative ideas developed in recent decades by historians of early modern England. Part IV- - Problems of literary interpretation that have been traditionally and generally important in Donne Studies- - introduces students and researchers to major critical debates affecting the reception of Donne from the 17th through to the 21st centuries. Contents List