Siege literature has existed since antiquity but has not always been understood as a crucial element of culture. Focusing on its magnetic force, Besieged brings to light its popularity and potency between the British Civil War and the Great Northern War in Europe, a period in which literary texts reflected an urgent interest in siege mentality and tactics.

Sharon Alker is Mary A. Denny Professor of English and General Studies at Whitman College.Nelson Holly Faith :

Holly Faith Nelson is professor and chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing at Trinity Western University.Sharon Alker is Mary A. Denny Professor of English and General Studies at Whitman College. Holly Faith Nelson is professor and chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing at Trinity Western University.

“Besieged offers an innovative and highly detailed study of British literary writing on sieges from the late seventeenth to early eighteenth centuries. The book contributes to a trend in military historical research that considers the significance of sieges alongside the more spectacular battles.” Eighteenth-Century Fiction

"Besieged pursues its objectives vigorously and imaginatively. Sharon Alker and Holly Faith Nelson not only arrange and categorize a wide array of siege drama, verse, and prose works; they evaluate them carefully, highlighting the best and robustly criticizing the weaker ones. Scholars owe a debt of gratitude to these two authors for working this rich vein of literary and historical documents." William W.E. Slights, University of Saskatchewan

"Alker and Nelson survey a wide range of written forms: diaries, letters, plays, long and short poetic forms, satires, and even allegory. One takeaway of this book is just how much siege-related writing there was. The authors show how different political, religious, and ideological positions influenced the way that authors depicted the assault on and defense of cities, both at home and abroad." Choice

“Alker and Nelson write in a lucid and engaging style that belies the heft of their scholarly and archival efforts. They are fine close readers with sharp historical sensibilities and their work is most engaging when they settle in and dig deep. Their analysis of siege drama … is particularly compelling as they trace the shift from Shakespeare’s trenchant dramatization of siege as ossification to the strategic reinvention of this imaginary in the wake of Britain’s own traumatic siege experience. This [… is] an expansive and stimulating book and its authors are to be commended.” Literature & History

“Besieged is poised to help academic readers, as well as their students and other interlocutors, learn from past human responses to civil violence, and bring that learning to bear on the present moment.” Journal of British Studies

“A fresh and insightful analysis of an often-overlooked motif in early modern war literature, the motif of the siege. Alker and Nelson have established a clear critical baseline, written a foundational critical text, and contributed an important perspective to the literature of early modern Britain.” War, Literature and the Arts