The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century English Novel

A survey of the development of the novel since 1900, with detailed information about individual novels, themes and subgenres.

Robert L. Caserio (Edited by)

9780521711159, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 April 2009

300 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.48 kg

'… energetically edited … Startling and exciting in equal measure, this volume will engender controversy for some time to come … Highly recommended [for] upper-division undergraduates and above.' M. J. Emery, Choice

The twentieth-century English novel encompasses a vast body of work, and one of the most important and most widely read genres of literature. Balancing close readings of particular novels with a comprehensive survey of the last century of published fiction, this Companion introduces readers to more than a hundred major and minor novelists. It demonstrates continuities in novel-writing that bridge the century's pre- and post-War halves and presents leading critical ideas about English fiction's themes and forms. The essays examine the endurance of modernist style throughout the century, the role of nationality and the contested role of the English language in all its forms, and the relationships between realism and other fictional modes: fantasy, romance, science fiction. Students, scholars and readers will find this Companion an indispensable guide to the history of the English novel.

Chronology
Introduction Robert L. Caserio
1. The art of English fiction in the twentieth century Dorothy M. Hale
2. The British Empire and the English modernist novel Jed Esty
3. Realism and rebellion in Edwardian and Georgian fiction Maria Di Battista
4. The Great War in English fiction Paul Edwards
5. Post-War modernism in the 20s and 30s Rod Mengham
6. Regionalism in English fiction between the Wars Matthew Hart
7. Ireland and English fiction Anne Fogarty
8. Feminist fiction Kristin Bluemel
9. Working-class fiction across the century John Fordham
10. World War Two, the welfare state, and post-war 'humanism' Marina MacKay
11. The Windrush generation Timothy Weiss
12. History in fiction James Acheson and Robert L. Caserio
13. Postmodernisms of English fiction Andrzej Gasiorek
14. Detectives and spies Allan Hepburn
15. The Post-Consensus novel: minority culture, multiculturalism, and transnational comparison Rebecca Walkowitz
16. An absurd century: varieties of satire Reed Way Dasenbrock
17. The other side of history: fantasy, romance, horror, and science fiction M. Keith Booker
Guide to further reading
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: from c 1900 - [DSBH], Literature & literary studies [D]