Nigel Smith is William and Annie S. Paton Foundation Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature at Princeton University. His books include A Collection of Ranter Writings (Pluto, 2014), Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon (2010), and Is Milton better than Shakespeare? (2008).

The Ranters - like the Levellers and the Diggers - were a group of religious libertarians who flourished during the English Civil War (1642-1651), a period of social and religious turmoil which saw, in the words of the historian Christopher Hill, 'the world turned upside down'. A Collection of Ranter Writings is the most notable attempt to anthologise the key Ranter writings, bringing together some of the most remarkable, visionary and unforgettable texts. The subjects range from the limits to pleasure and divine right, to social justice and collective action. The Ranters have intrigued and captivated generations of scholars and philosophers. This carefully curated collection will be of great interest to historians, philosophers and all those trying to understand past radical traditions.