Originally published in 1972, Restoration Literature is a landmark in the study of seventeenth-century English literature. By assembling a diverse range of critical voices, Love captures the vibrancy and complexity of a period marked by both artistic innovation and ideological strife. The book remains essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how literature responded to—and helped shape—the Restoration’s turbulent cultural landscape. This book rehabilitates the literature of the restoration period and shows it to be worth the most careful critical attention.  The book remains a foundational text for students and scholars interested in the complex interplay of politics, performance, satire, and poetic innovation that defined the era.