This is an attempt to write a history of English literature admittedly with an innovative approach. The traditional as well as the more modern views in the West on literary movements， schools， traditions and influences in the field of English literature and on individual English authors and their major and minor works are here given due respect and serious consideration， but with the reservation sometimes to differ and occasionally to introduce new and totally contrary judgments from the viewpoint of historical materialism i.e.， the writers and their writings are to be given their proper places in each case in accordance with the roles， healthful or otherwise， that they play in the progress of history， social and literary. Of course，whether or how far have I succeeded in these pages in living up to the theory advanced above awaits judgment from my readers.　　This history is written primarily for Chinese readers， in particular for Chinese college students majoring in English language and literature， with the aim to give them a historical survey of English literature from its earliest beginnings down to the 20th century. As many college students in China today are being introduced for the first time to English literature in any systematic way， biographical sketches of the major writers and rather detailed resumes of their major works are generally provided in this history， before I enter into any serious discussions on the authors and their writings.　　A companion-book providing students with selections from representative works of representative English authors， arranged chronologically and accompanied with introductory remarks and notes， is expected to appear at the same time as this history. It is hoped that the two books together， this history and “Selected Readings in English Literature”， will give the students a rudimentary knowledge of English literature in its historical development.　　In view of the vastly different levels of proficiency in the English language among English majors in Chinese colleges and universities today， a shorter history than this， written in simpler language， seems also necessary for the present. Such a book is now being prepared.