Witness Against the Beast

This is an brilliant piece of literary criticism that should be of great interest to anyone interested in English radicalism and antinomianism. The real gem here -- the part that I have returned to read again and again-- are the appendices which include a short account titled "The Muggletonian Archive". Here E.P. Thompson recounts his meeting with "last Muggletonian", the last living adherent to a 17th century sect, and the role he played in seeing that the church's archives were preserved in the British Library. A great story. Thompson maintains, if I remember correctly, that Blake's mother may have been a Muggletonian and that songs and tropes from that tradition had a great influence on Blake's mythology. You do not need to be convinced by Thompson's argument to find this book engrossing and thought-provoking. Well worth seeking out.