Tracing the influence of masculinity on fictional form and theme through an era of dizzying social change, this timely new book conducts a close analysis of English novels selected for contrasting definitions of the male gender, from the allegedly Angry Young Men to the contemporary confessions of Nick Hornby. The literary period since 1950 is interpreted as one of intense political and stylistic negotiation by male authors with the gendered subject-positions both of fictional characters and those who read about them.

Challenges the myths about apathy and smugness surrounding British literature of the period. Alice Ferrebe's lively study rereads the decade and its literature as crucial in twentieth-century British history for its emergent and increasingly complicated politics of difference, as ideas about identity, authority and belonging were tested and contested. By placing a diverse selection of texts alongside those of the established canon of Movement and 'Angry' writing, a literary culture of true diversity and depth is brought into view. The volume characterises the 1950s as a time of confrontation...

Encompassing feminism, masculinities and queer theory, and drawing on film, literature, language, creative writing and digital technologies, these essays, from scholars experienced in teaching gender theory in university English programmes, offer inventive and student-focused strategies for teaching gender in the twenty-first century classroom.

'A classic.' - Susan Hill, author of "The Woman in Black" and "I'm King of the Castle"
'John Wain's best novel in a long time . . . an interesting story . . . stunning.' - "The Observer"
'John Wain's contribution to the gathering army of lone, upset figures is a notable one.' - William Trevor, "Books and Bookmen"
'Harrowing but deeply compassionate . . . marks a new and impressive development in Mr. Wain's writing.' "British Book News"
'This searching novel throws a critical spotlight on the life that the modern world compels us to lead.' - "Encounter"
Arthur Geary, a...

C. L. Jubb is thirty-six, married, gainfully employed, and active in his community, both in local government and as a volunteer youth leader working with disadvantaged boys. But as he narrates the story of his downfall, we begin to see that he is other things as well: a voyeur, a fetishist, a racist, an admirer of Mussolini, and above all, a man obsessed by his sexual fantasies. With its unforgettable protagonist - odious yet pitiable, vile yet oddly sympathetic - Keith Waterhouse's third novel is both a gripping case study of a social and sexual misfit and an unsettling but wickedly funny...