In 2019, Alfred University student Angela Vanbuskirk ’20 produced the Anthology of British Literature: From the Restoration to Modernism, a project for English Professor Allen Grove’s Publishing Practicum course, offered in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Vanbuskirk’s anthology traces English literature from the restoration of King Charles II in the 17th century to the 20th century and the advent of modernism.
In 2019, Alfred University student Angela Vanbuskirk ’20 produced the Anthology of British Literature: From the Restoration to Modernism, a project for English Professor Allen Grove’s Publishing Practicum course, offered in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Vanbuskirk’s anthology traces English literature from the restoration of King Charles II in the 17th century to the 20th century and the advent of modernism.
The project impressed a younger Alfred University student: Alyra Rain, now a senior with a major in English, decided to produce her own anthology of British literature, one that would introduce readers to the roots of British literature and follow the trail to the mid-17 century. Rain (the name she prefers) subsequently produced The Foundations of English Literature: An Anthology of Pre-Restoration British Literature as her project for Grove’s Publishing Practicum, held in the spring semester of 2025.
As a senior (she expects to graduate in December), she has had the pleasure of seeing her book gain an audience. It was the primary text in the British Literature survey course (Part 1) taught in the first half of the fall semester by English Professor Susan Mayberry (Grove teaches the second half of the survey course where he uses Vanbuskirk’s Anthology of British Literature: From the Restoration to Modernism).
“I decided I wanted to use Rain’s anthology because she’s an AU student and her peers can see what’s possible as an English major,” Mayberry says. “Rain acts as a role model in that way. My students were really impressed and thrilled that one of their own could actually produce the book they were using.”
Mayberry adds, “Also it’s a first-rate piece of work.”
The use of both Rain and Vanbuskirk’s books holds a practical advantage for students. Both books are published by Grove’s company, Whitlock Publishing, and can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of standard British literature anthologies.
“Those anthologies are quite a bit more expensive,” Mayberry says. “We were able to make a used copy of this edition available for under 30 dollars.”
Rain says she was directly inspired by Vanbuskirk’s effort five years ago. As an English major, she also is fascinated by the development of the English language in literature, an evolution her book traces from Beowulf through Chaucer, Shakespeare through Donne and Milton.
“I find the linguistic evolution of the English language super-interesting,” she says. “A lot of modern inspiration builds on the early writers, and the early writers are constantly referenced in the more modern literary work. Virginia Woolf in Jacob’s Room, for instance, constantly references Shakespeare.”
Rain says she began working on the anthology during the summer of 2024, consulting closely with Mayberry regarding what texts she wanted to include in her survey class. Most of the work was done during Grove’s 2025 Publishing Practicum course, during which Rain designed the volume, conducted extensive research on the writers, and wrote critical, biographical essays that introduced each writer’s section.
“I really enjoyed the work,” she says. “It’s also my honor’s thesis.”
And the work is getting a positive reaction from its readers. “When I introduced it, my students were impressed,” Mayberry says. “There’s no way they couldn’t be.”
Pictured above, a poster related to Alyra Rain's British literature anthology hangs in Seidlin Hall, where the Division of English holds most of its classes.
