The 1960s: A Decade of Modern British Fiction

Description

How did social, cultural and political events in Britain during and leading up to the 1960s shape modern British fiction? The 1960s were the "swinging decade": a newly energised youth culture went hand-in-hand with new technologies, expanding educational opportunities, new social attitudes and profound political differences between the generations. This volume explores the ways in which these apparently seismic changes were reflected in British fiction of the decade. Chapters cover feminist writing that fused the personal and the political, gay, lesbian and immigrant voices and the work of visionary experimental and science fiction writers. A major critical re-evaluation of the decade, this volume covers such writers as J.G. Ballard, Anthony Burgess, A.S. Byatt, Angela Carter, John Fowles, Christopher Isherwood, Doris Lessing, Michael Moorcock and V.S. Naipaul.

Philip Tew is Professor of English (Post-1900 Literature) at Brunel University London, UK, Director of Brunel's Centre for Contemporary Writing and Director of the annual Hillingdon Literary Festival held at Brunel. James Riley is Fellow and College Lecturer in English Literature at Girton College, University of Cambridge, UK. Melanie Seddon is an independent researcher specialising in British post-war literature and culture. She was formerly based at the Centre for Studies in Literature at the University of Portsmouth as a lecturer in 20th-century literature.

These essays explore 1960s British fiction within the historical and cultural context of the decade to convey why the selected works were influential at the time and why they continue to give insight into postwar and postcolonial Britain ... Features include three helpful timelines: major works of the 1960s, key national events, and significant international events. Revisiting the richness of 1960s British fiction gives new insights into the life and changing culture of the time, particularly for those who did not experience this exuberant decade first-hand. * American Reference Books Annual *