Orwell to the Present

'...a significant addition to the field of post-war British literary studies, ongoing debates on the nature and fate of Englishness, and recent critical interrogations of the concept of periodicity. Admirably wide-ranging, filled with subtle and insightful readings and written in a lucid, consistently eloquent prose style, Brannigan's study will prove essential reading to anyone interested in the past half-century of British writing, the scattered itineraries of Englishness that writing maps, and the nature of the work literary theory performs in addressing the idea of a literary period. It is an excellent and rewarding book.' - Ian Baucom, Professor of English, Duke University 'John Brannigan has generated a new analysis of literature in the second half of the twentieth century, sidestepping many of the traditional preoccupations, foregrounding a distinctive array of texts. His book fizzes with insights; it will become a necessary reference point.' - Alan Sinfield, Professor of English, University of Sussex '...covers a wide range of authors in a stimulating way.' - Dr Tim Woods, University of Wales, Aberystwyth 'Very clear and engaging and fills a noted gap.' - Dr Eve Patten, Trinity College Dublin '...a fast-paced survey of future possible conclusions about the relationship between British literature and the national consciousness.' - W.B. Warde, Jr., Choice

A critical survey of the principal themes and styles of literature in England since 1945. John Brannigan examines the complex nature of the relationship between literature and history, society and place, and argues that postwar literature is concerned with themes of social and cultural change.This essential introductory guide provides a comprehensive critical survey of the diverse and rich body of literary writing produced in England in the postwar period. John Brannigan explores the relationship between literature and history, and analyses how poets, playwrights and novelists have revisited notions of Englishness, represented Englands of the past, and sought to make new 'maps' of English culture and society.

Orwell to the Present: Literature in England, 1945-2000 combines original readings of familiar texts with wide-ranging explorations of the principal themes and historical and cultural contexts of literature since the end of the Second World War. Writers considered in detail include: Martin Amis, Simon Armitage, Pat Barker, John Betjeman, Edward Bond, Angela Carter, Margaret Drabble, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Jean Rhys, Salman Rushdie, Sam Selvon, Graham Swift and Evelyn Waugh.