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The Novel Now
Contemporary British Fiction

"The Novel Now shows that Richard Bradford is a very sharp and unillusioned critic; that he is his own man."
–Martin Amis

Richard Bradford (Author)

9781405113854, Wiley

Hardback, published 18 December 2006

272 pages
23.9 x 16.3 x 2.5 cm, 0.526 kg

“It is keenly aware and neatly arranged in examining individual authors and their unique qualities while also tracing connecting threads within the many works of the British novel. Bradford … also establishes deep contexts for his work and the works he examines.” (Evelyn Waugh Newsletter And Studies)

"This survey of a vast field is elegantly managed, with agreeable readings along the way." (The Guardian)

"Bradford is formidable, bracing and wildly stimulating" (The Telegraph)

Praise for Richard Bradford’s previous works:


For Lucky Him: The Life of Kingsley Amis
"sharp and convincing… written with magisterial skill" (The Daily Telegraph)


"perceptive… intelligent… written with an unstrident ease and sympathy that would surely have pleased his subject" (The Spectator)

For First Boredom, Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin


"quite the best book [on him] yet to appear… a masterful analysis… Bradford is in such complete command of his subject matter, nothing escapes him. It is as if he has had access to Larkin’s very thought processes. A great biography of a great artistic genius. Utterly magnificent" (The Daily Express)


"extraordinary… quite the best thing to appear on Larkin in ages" (The London Evening Standard)

The Novel Now is an intelligent and engaging survey of contemporary British fiction.

  • Discusses familiar names such as Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, and Angela Carter and compares them with more recent authors, including David Mitchell, Ali Smith, A.L. Kennedy, Matt Thorne, Nicola Barker, and Toby Litt
  • Incorporates original coverage of subgenres such as chick lit, lad lit, gay fiction, crime fiction, and the historical novel
  • Discusses the ways in which notions of regional identity and tribalist views have surfaced in UK and Irish fiction, and how post-Imperial sensibility has become a feature of the 'British' novel
  • Situates contemporary fiction within its socio-cultural and literary contexts.

Preface.

Acknowledgements.

Part I: Realism Versus Modernism: Win, Lose or Draw?.

1. Before Now. A Brief Account of the Pre-1970s British Novel.

2. Something Unusual: Martin Amis and Ian McEwan.

3. The Effects of Thatcherism.

4. The New Postmodernists.

Part II: Excursions From the Ordinary.

5. The New Historical Novel.

6. Crime and Spy Fiction.

Part III: Sex.

7. Women.

8. Men.

9. Gay Fiction.

Part IV: Nation, Race and Place.

10. Scotland.

11. England, Englishness and Class.

12. The Question of Elsewhere.

13. Wales.

14. The Troubles.

15. Epilogue: The State of the Novel.

Select Bibliography: Recommended Further Reading.

Index

Subject Areas: Literature: history & criticism [DS]
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