Post-War British Literature and the End of Empire

ISBN-13: 9781137540133 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 225 str.

Matthew Whittle

Opis

Post-War British Literature and the End of Empire examines novels by white British writers who emerged during the immediate post-war decades including Anthony Burgess, Graham Greene, William Golding, Alan Sillitoe and Colin MacInnes, among others and contends that they not only depict decolonization within its global context but often propose a solution to Britain's imperial decline through cultural renewal. This book re-conceives twentieth-century British literature from the mid-century period to make central the processes of decolonization and mass immigration.

Recenzje

"Post-War British Literature and the 'End of Empire' makes a useful intervention in the study of English writing in the post-war period, shedding light on how empire was represented by some of its most critical servants at a time of intense change." (John Brannigan, Modern Language Review, Vol. 114 (4), October, 2019)

Spis treści

Acknowledgements

 

List of Abbreviations

 

1    Introduction

 

Part I: The British Abroad

 

2          Decolonisation and the Second World War

           

3          America Moves In: Neo-colonialism and America’s ‘Entertainment Empire’

 

Part II: Returning Home

 

4          Englishness in Transition: Moving from the Imperial to the National

 

5          Post-War Immigration and Multicultural Britain

 

6    Coda: Satire and Celebration: Representing Empire in Post-War British Culture

 

Notes

 

Bibliography

 

Index

O autorze

Matthew Whittle is a Teaching Fellow in Contemporary and Postcolonial Literature at the University of Leeds, UK. He has published journal articles and book chapters on post-war British and Caribbean literature, decolonization, postcolonial studies, and contemporary art.

Blurb

This book examines literary texts by British colonial servant and settler writers, including Anthony Burgess, Graham Greene, William Golding, and Alan Sillitoe, who depicted the impact of decolonization in the newly independent colonies and at home in Britain. The end of the British Empire was one of the most significant and transformative events in twentieth-century history, marking the beginning of a new world order and having an indelible impact on British culture and society. Literary responses to this moment by those from within Britain offer an enlightening (and often overlooked) exploration of the influence of decolonization on received notions of “race” and class, while also prefiguring conceptions of multiculturalism. As Matthew Whittle argues in this sweeping study, these works not only view decolonization within its global context (alongside the aftermath of the Second World War, the rise of America, and mass immigration) but often propose a solution to imperial decline through cultural renewal.