Synopses & Reviews
In this introduction to the post-war novel in Britain, Dominic Head shows how the novel yields a special insight into the important areas of social and cultural history in the second half of the twentieth century. Head's study is the most exhaustive survey of post-war British fiction available. It includes chapters on the state and the novel, class and social change, gender and sexual identity, national identity and multiculturalism. Throughout Head places novels in their social and historical context. He highlights the emergence and prominence of particular genres and links these developments to the wider cultural context. He also provides provocative readings of important individual novelists, particularly those who remain staple reference points in the study of the subject. Accessible, wide-ranging and designed specifically for use on courses, this is the most current introduction to the subject available. It will be an invaluable resource for students and teachers alike.
Review
"Anyone with an interest in the contemporary novel, not just British fiction, will appreciate this outstanding survey and analysis ... ranging from Angus Wilson to Zadie Smith, Head provides abundant evidence for his conclusion that 'the novel ... becomes an important focus for the society's alternative, redemptive, and connective thought.' This book should become a standard reference work for its subject." Choice
Synopsis
Dominic Head demonstrates how the novel yields a special insight into important areas of social and cultural history in the second half of the twentieth-century. His study is the most exhaustive survey of post-war British fiction available. Placing novels in their social and historical context, it includes chapters on the state and the novel, class and social change, gender and sexual identity, national identity, and multiculturalism. Accessible and wide-ranging, this is the most current introduction to the subject available.
Synopsis
Shows how the novel yields a special insight into the social and cultural history of Britain 1950 2000. Includes chapters on the state and the novel, class and social change, gender and sexual identity, national identity and multiculturalism. This is the most accessible, and wide-ranging introduction to the subject available.
Synopsis
Must-have guides designed to introduce students and teachers to key topics and authors.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The state and the novel: The post-war wilderness; The testing of liberal humanism; The sixties and social revolution; The post-consensus novel; Intimations of social collapse; After Thatcher; 2. Class and social change: âThe movementâ; Anger and working-class fiction; Education and class loyalty; The formal challenge of class; The waning of class consciousness; The rise of the middle class; The rise of the underclass; The realignment of the middle class; The role of the intellectual; 3. Gender and sexual identity: Out of the bird-cage; Second-wave feminism; Post-feminism; Repression in gay fiction; 4. National identity: Reinventing Englishness; The colonial legacy; The Troubles; Irishness extended; Welsh resistance; The âPossible Danceâof Scottishness; Beyond the Isles?; 5. Multicultural personae: Jewish-British writing; The empire within; âWindrushâand after: dislocation confronted; The quest for a settlement; Ethnic identity and literary form; Putting down roots; Rushdieâs broken mirror; Towards post-nationalism; 6. Country and suburbia: The death of the nature novel; The re-evaluation of pastoral; The post-pastoral novel; The country and the city; Trouble in suburbia; Embracing the suburban experience; 7. Beyond 2000: Realism and experimentalism; Technology and the new science; Towards the new confessional; The fallacy of the new; A broken truth: Murdoch and morality; Notes; Bibliography.