Renaissance Literature: An Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies (Paper))

Rating:
Summary: Illegible font
Review: Ignoring the normal quibbles anyone would have with anthologies' selections is easy when you check out Payne and Hunter's volume--or, rather, try to check it out. Like others in the Blackwell series, _Renaissance Literature_ is rendered useless by its size print: far too small to be seen comfortably for even a moment, far FAR too small if you'd like to read, say, _The Faerie Queen_. Not recommended, not recommendable.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Renaissance Literature has a very well chosen, wide-ranging selection of material from the period, but unfortunately the production quality is low; it seems as though all the effort went into the glossy cover. The paper is too thin, the print so very small and close together that it really hurts the eyes. Misprints are common. The annotation provided is wildly inconsistent; some items have many useful (if nearly illegible) footnotes, others none at all. If the book were pulled from circulation, re-edited, and re-issued in legible form, it could be an excellent resource, far more ample in content than the dominant Norton Anthology; unfortunately, it isn't really useable as it is.