The Essential Paradise Lost

After its publication in 1667, John Milton-s Paradise Lost was celebrated throughout Europe as a supreme achievement of the human spirit.

Now it is little read. To bring readers back to Milton-s masterpiece, John Carey has shortened it to a third of its original length. In this fascinating reinterpretation, Carey reveals new insights about Milton-s sources of inspiration, while exploring divided readings of the work-s key characters.

The Essential Paradise Lost presents the epic-s greatest poetry, with linking passages that preserve its cosmic sweep - from the superhuman defiance of a ruined archangel to a pair of tragic lovers, bewildered to find themselves responsible for the fate of the whole human race.