The Growth of Literature is a key work for all scholars and students of comparative literature, and will also interest those involved with other fields of literary studies as well as sociology, anthropology and related disciplines. The three volumes, hailed as classics when they first appeared between 1932 and 1940, were last reprinted in 1968. Now available for the first time in paperback, they remain the definitive study of their subject. The work contains an examination of comparative literatures in various countries and at various times, with a view to demonstrating what literature (oral and written) consists of at different stages of its growth and what, if any, general principles can be applied to its development under diverse conditions. In the first volume Professor and Mrs Chadwick establish the categories of literature which are used throughout as a means of classification, and discuss the heroic age in Europe, focusing on Classical, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic cultures. In the second volume they deal with Russian oral literature, Yugoslav oral poetry, early Indian literature and early Hebrew literature. Volume III examines the oral literature of the Tatars, of Polynesia, and of Africa, concluding with a general survey which makes use of the categories developed in the first volume.

First published between 1932 and 1940, this is a three-volume study of the historical development of literature. It explores the oral and written literatures of regions from Iceland and the British Isles, to Russia, the Balkans, Africa, India and the Pacific, placing them in their historical context and examining similarities between them. The authors discuss both ancient and recent texts, illustrating the connections within each group and considering the question of whether all literary growth is influenced by common factors. Praised on publication as ' ... a work that is not, probably could not be, superseded' (International Journal of Comparative Sociology), the book remains a benchmark for those studying comparative literature or the history of literary criticism. Volume 2 focuses particularly on Russia and the Balkans, and also surveys both early Indian and early Hebrew literature.

First published between 1932 and 1940, this is a three-volume study of the historical development of literature. It explores the oral and written literatures of regions from Iceland and the British Isles, to Russia, the Balkans, Africa, India and the Pacific, placing them in their historical context and examining similarities between them. The authors discuss both ancient and recent texts, illustrating the connections within each group and considering the question of whether all literary growth is influenced by common factors. Praised on publication as ' ... a work that is not, probably could not be, superseded' (International Journal of Comparative Sociology), the book remains a benchmark for those studying comparative literature or the history of literary criticism. Volume 1 analyses a range of medieval British and Icelandic poetry and sagas, drawing analogies with the literature of early Greece and focusing particularly on the concept of heroic literature.

The Growth of Literature is a key work for all scholars and students of comparative literature, and will also interest those involved with other fields of literary studies as well as sociology, anthropology and related disciplines. The three volumes, hailed as classics when they first appeared between 1932 and 1940, were last reprinted in 1968. Now available for the first time in paperback, they remain the definitive study of their subject. The work contains an examination of comparative literatures in various countries and at various times, with a view to demonstrating what literature (oral and written) consists of at different stages of its growth and what, if any, general principles can be applied to its development under diverse conditions. In the first volume Professor and Mrs Chadwick establish the categories of literature which are used throughout as a means of classification, and discuss the heroic age in Europe, focusing on Classical, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic cultures. In the second volume they deal with Russian oral literature, Yugoslav oral poetry, early Indian literature and early Hebrew literature. Volume III examines the oral literature of the Tatars, of Polynesia, and of Africa, concluding with a general survey which makes use of the categories developed in the first volume.