Orwell to the Present: Literature in England, 1945-2000

ISBN-13: 9780333696170 / Angielski / Miękka / 2002 / 244 str.

John Brannigan

Opis

This comprehensive critical survey introduces readers to the principal themes and styles of literature in England since 1945. John Brannigan examines the complex nature of the relationship between literature and history, society, and place, and argues that postwar literature is especially concerned with themes of social and cultural change. Covering drama, fiction and poetry, this book combines original readings of a wide range of familiar texts with an exploration of the historical and cultural context of literature since World War II.

Spis treści

General Editor's Preface.- Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- PART ONE: ENGLAND REVISITED 'Small Disturbances': England in 1945.- 'After History': Time and Memory in Postwar Writing.- A Literature of Farewell: The Condition of England and the Politics of Elegy.- PART TWO: MAKING NEW MAPS 'Common Ground': Feminist Fictions and the Cultural Politics of Difference.- From Anger to Blasted: Trauma and Social Representation in Contemporary Drama.- English Journeys: Cultural Geographies of Contemporary England.- Conclusion.- Chronology.- Key Concepts and Contexts.- Annotated Bibliography.- Bibliography.- Index.

O autorze

JOHN BRANNIGAN teaches English at Trinity College Dublin and Queen's University of Belfast. He has published works on critical theory, postwar English literature and twentieth-century Irish writing.

Blurb

This essential introductory guide provides a comprehensive critical survey of the diverse and rich body of literary writing produced in England in the postwar period. John Brannigan explores the relationship between literature and history, and analyses how poets, playwrights and novelists have revisited notions of Englishness, represented Englands of the past, and sought to make new 'maps' of English culture and society.

Orwell to the Present: Literature in England, 1945-2000 combines original readings of familiar texts with wide-ranging explorations of the principal themes and historical and cultural contexts of literature since the end of the Second World War. Writers considered in detail include: Martin Amis, Simon Armitage, Pat Barker, John Betjeman, Edward Bond, Angela Carter, Margaret Drabble, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Jean Rhys, Salman Rushdie, Sam Selvon, Graham Swift and Evelyn Waugh.