This authoritative edition was first published in the acclaimed Oxford Authors series under the general editorship of Frank Kermode.

The victim is the beautiful, innocent Belinda, her attacker is the dastardly Baron, and his weapon of choice is a pair of scissors... Pope's mock-epic is the sharp and witty tale of the most famous bad hair day in the history of literature.

With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

The introduction provides a thorough discussion of the poem's attitudes, themes, composition, context, and reception, and reassesses the work's place in history. Extensive annotations to the text explain references and allusions.

This book contains Alexander Pope’s seminal interpretation of the original Homeric poem, published serially from 1715 to 1720.

A satiric poem about Belinda and the evil Baron who wants to steal a lock of her hair, it is a commentary on the battle of the sexes and the contemporary social world of high society.