This authoritative text of the first edition of John Milton's Paradise Lost transcribes the original 10-book poem, records its textual problems and numerous differences from the second edition, and discusses in critical commentary the importance of these issues.
John T. Shawcross (1924-2011) was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Kentucky. He was the author of numerous books, including With Mortal Voice: The Creation of Paradise Lost, and a two-time winner of the James Holly Hanford Book Award for the most distinguished book on Milton.
Michael Lieb (1940-2022) was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was the author, editor, or coeditor of numerous books, including Theological Milton: Deity, Discourse and Heresy in the Miltonic Canon and The Miltonic Samson, the latter of which won the 1996 Irene Samuel Memorial Award of the Milton Society of America.