Professor Thomas Corns FBA

The historically-informed study of 17th-century English literature; scholarly editing of 17th-century texts; stylistic criticism
Fellow type
UK Fellow
Year elected
2015
Subjects
Literature

Summary

Thomas Corns was born in Prescot, Lancashire and educated at the local grammar school. He studied at Brasenose and University Colleges, Oxford, and spent a year as an exchange student to the Maximilianeum Foundation, Munich. His doctoral thesis provided the basis for The Development of Milton's Prose Style, published as the first Oxford English Monograph. Between 1975 and 2014 he worked at Bangor University, formerly the University College of North Wales and the University of Wales, Bangor, where he served at various times as head of department, head of the School of Arts and Humanities, and as a pro-vice-chancellor. He has published mainly on Milton and on the political literature of the mid-17th century. He is an Honored Scholar of the Milton Society of America. Currently he is collaborating with David Loewenstein on a scholarly edition of Paradise Lost, a contribution to the eleven-volume Complete Works of John Milton published by Oxford University Press, of which, with Gordon Campbell, he is general editor.

Current post

Bangor University Emeritus Professor of English Literature

Publications

Milton and Catholicism

Thomas Nicholas Corns edited with Ronald Corthell - Published in 2017 by University of Notre Dame Press

This collection of original essays by literary critics and historians analyses a wide range of Milton’s writing, from his early poetry, through his mid-century political prose, to De Doctrina Christiana.

A New Companion to Milton

Edited by Thomas Nicholas Corns - Published in 2016 by Wiley-Blackwell

A New Companion to Milton builds on the critically-acclaimed original, bringing alive the diverse and controversial world of contemporary Milton studies while reflecting the very latest advances in research in the field.

The Milton Encyclopedia

Thomas Nicholas Corns - Published in 2012 by Yale University Press

The Milton Encyclopedia offers easy and immediate access to a wealth of information about Milton. It will serve as a general and comprehensive reference tool for general readers, students, and scholars alike, enhancing the experience of reading Milton.

The Complete Works of Gerrard Winstanley, 2 volumes

Thomas Nicholas Corns with David Loewenstein and Ann Hughes - Published in 2009 by Oxford University Press

The first complete and fully annotated edition of the works of Gerrard Winstanley. Includes an extensive editorial introduction which re-examines all that is known of Winstanley's life, writings, and cultural milieu.

John Milton: Life, Work, and Thought

Thomas Nicholas Corns with Gordon Campbell - Published in 2008 by Oxford University Press

A fascinating new biography of a seminal writer, whose career spanned one of the most turbulent periods in English history.

John Milton and the Manuscript of De Doctrina Christiana

Thomas Nicholas Corns with Gordon Campbell, John Hale and Fiona Tweedie - Published in 2007 by Oxford University Press

A lively narrative account of the research project that demonstrated the Miltonic provenance of De Doctrina Christiana beyond reasonable doubt.

Other Fellows of the British Academy

Professor Ayanna Thompson FBA

Shakespeare, early modern literature, performance studies, and premodern critical race studies

Professor Ayanna Thompson FBA

Professor Henry Woudhuysen FBA

English literature of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, especially Sir Philip Sidney, Shakespeare, and Samuel Johnson; post-medieval palaeography; bibliography and the history of the book

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Professor Nico Mann FBA

Petrarch, early Italian Renaissance and the classical tradition

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