This is an attempt to write a history of English literature admittedly with an innovative approach. The traditional as well as the more modern views in the West on literary movements， schools， traditions and influences in the field of English literature and on individual English authors and their major and minor works are here given due respect and serious consideration， but with the reservation sometimes to differ and occasionally to introduce new and totally contrary judgments from the viewpoint of historical materialism i.e.， the writers and their writings are to be given their proper places in each case in accordance with the roles， healthful or otherwise， that they play in the progress of history， social and literary. Of course，whether or how far have I succeeded in these pages in living up to the theory advanced above awaits judgment from my readers.　　This history is written primarily for Chinese readers， in particular for Chinese college students majoring in English language and literature， with the aim to give them a historical survey of English literature from its earliest beginnings down to the 20th century. As many college students in China today are being introduced for the first time to English literature in any systematic way， biographical sketches of the major writers and rather detailed resumes of their major works are generally provided in this history， before I enter into any serious discussions on the authors and their writings.　　A companion-book providing students with selections from representative works of representative English authors， arranged chronologically and accompanied with introductory remarks and notes， is expected to appear at the same time as this history. It is hoped that the two books together， this history and “Selected Readings in English Literature”， will give the students a rudimentary knowledge of English literature in its historical development.　　In view of the vastly different levels of proficiency in the English language among English majors in Chinese colleges and universities today， a shorter history than this， written in simpler language， seems also necessary for the present. Such a book is now being prepared.

《英国文学史(3)(英文版)》内容简介：Selected Readings in English Literature is to serve as a textbook for Readings in English Literature，a companion-course to History of English Literature.

《英国文学史》(4)作者陈嘉，18世纪前半叶，英国社会安定，文学上崇尚新古典主义，其代表者是诗人蒲柏。他运用英雄偶句体极为纯熟，擅长写讽刺诗，但以发泄私怨居多。表现出启蒙主义精神的主要是散文作家，他们推进了散文艺术，还开拓了两个文学新领域，即期刊随笔和现实主义小说。

《英国文学史(2)(英文版)》内容简介：Selected Readings in English Literature is to serve as a textbook for Readings in English Literature，a companion-course to History of English Literature.