Gryll Grange: Retreat, Conversation and Civilisation in Late Peacock

Thomas Love Peacock's 1860 novel marks the culmination of his comic fiction: a quieter, more reflective work written when he was in his seventies. In Gryll Grange, the march of mind gives way to retreat, conversation and the defence of leisure against the demands of progress. Read More…

The Female Quixote, Volume II: Where Imagination Meets the World

Volume II of Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote brings Arabella out of seclusion and into an ever-widening collision with the society she has only ever read about. Published on 15 September, it completes a P-Wave Classics edition of one of the eighteenth century's most witty, surprising and intellectually provocative novels. Read More…

Crotchet Castle: Reform, Utility and the Comedy of Modern Improvement

Crotchet Castle captures a nation convinced it is marching toward a rational future. Thomas Love Peacock's 1831 satire asks whether the marchers are getting anywhere useful, or simply tripping over their own beliefs. Read More…

The Misfortunes of Elphin: Taliesin, Wales and Bardic Resistance

The Misfortunes of Elphin turns Welsh legend into a comic romance about Taliesin, failed rulers and bardic resistance. Through the lens of Homer's epic poetry and Christopher Nolan's retelling of The Odyssey, we look at how Peacock uses song as memory, judgement and cultural survival. Read More…

The Conversation Continues: Hermsprong Volume II Is Published

Volume II of Robert Bage’s Hermsprong is published today in paperback and ebook. The novel’s arguments about rank, authority and women’s independence now move into sharper conflict. Read More…

Maid Marian, Robin Hood and the Politics of Romance

Maid Marian turns the Robin Hood legend into a comic romance about liberty, authority and justice. Peacock’s greenwood is not a blueprint for reform, but a place where corrupt power can be laughed at and evaded. Read More…