Eleven essays and reviews celebrate the career of the poet 300 years after his death. The essays reflect both the political and cultural issues of his day, and also the breadth and circumstances of his work. "Dryden wrote as a humanist," the editors note, "dependent on aristocratic patrons and aiming at eternity in the pantheon of letters; but he also wrote as an entrepreneur, sharply mindful of the taste of the theater-going public, of the practices of the book trade, and ever responsive to commission and occasion." The contributors are academics from the US and UK. The book is also published as Huntington Library Quarterly, v. 63, nos. 1-2. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)