History Books

Apart from serving you with some juicy facts the main purpose of a history book is to give you a sense of the past. It gives you a perspective through which you look at a particular author, his or her works and their implications. Along with all this it gives you a bird’s eye view of all the authors and makes you familiar with the names and works without even reading them. This familiarity is what you need when you finish reading a history book of English Literature. Since it has been blown out of proportion that you need to read all the history books to clear NET, I would just mildly disagree with and just advise you to read whichever history book you have at least three times. It will not only cement your understanding of the past but will also embed certain dates and facts in your brain automatically. It will give you a better understanding of the perspectives and will strengthen your intuitive understanding and intelligent guesses.

The history books listed above are all fabulous in their own rights. Everybody has their preferences and so I. As far as my understanding and the need of the exam goes, I always recommend A Compendious History of English Literature by R. D. Trivedi. This book has its merits and demerits but is perfect for NTA UGC NET English as it truly compendious. It lists works of all the authors it mentions chronologically and also gives a short summary of important works listed which makes it one of a kind. Along with R.D. Trivedi you can choose any other book of your choice or the one you already have and can go through it multiple times. English Literature: Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World by William J. Long is available for free download as an audio book and should be listened to at least five to six times in its entirety.

David Daiches and Arthur Compton-Rickett are quality books that should definitely be read regardless of the fact that you are preparing for NTA UGC NET in English. But please note that these books a quite verbose and might take more a little more time than usual to go through them. I'd say if you have the time go through if you don't you can skip them.  

William Henry Hudson is a nice little cute history book which I read a lot of times only because it was small and was packed with info. I used this book to get back the perspectives of age and to get into the flow of preparation and reading. You can buy this book if you want and can give it a read. However this is not necessarily required.

The only other book that read have read is Routledge History of Literature in English by Ronald Carter and John McRae. I read it in PDF form and so can you. The PDF can be found on the internet if you resourceful enough. (If you know what I mean)

I also had two other books namely History of English Literature by Legouis Cazamian and A Short History Of English Literature by Sir Ifor Evans which is also available for free download. But you don't necessarily have to go and read it especially for NTA UGC NET in English. The already mentioned books will suffice.

Remember what matters is how many times you've read the same book so that you have remembered some facts rather than how many history books you have read. Stick to whatever you have and read it multiple times if you don't feel like spending or cannot spend anymore on new books. I can guarantee that not having a particular history book can never ever be the reason why you will not clear NTA UGC NET precisely because

1. Not all the questions are from a particular history book.
2. & not all the questions are from British Literature

I hope you got some insight into choosing a history book, its purpose and its necessity. If you still have some issue you can contact me by writing to me at englishnetjrf [at] gmail [dot] com or on Telegram @gaarlicbread