In this study, John Brannigan explains the development of new historicism and cultural materialism and demonstrates both their uses and weaknesses as critical practices. Exemplary readings of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, the

New Historicism and Cultural Materialism (Transitions (Palgrave))

Literature & Fiction

Brannigan, John

History & Criticism

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

New historicism and cultural materialism emerged in the early 1980s as prominent literary theories and came to represent a revival of interest in history and in historicising literature.  Their proponents rejected both formalist criticism and earlier attempts to read literature in its historical context and defined new ways of thinking about literature in relation to history.  This study explains the development of these theories and demonstrates both their uses and weaknesses as critical practices.  The potential future direction for the theories is explored and the controversial debates about their validity in literary studies are discussed.

New Historicism and Cultural Materialism (Transitions)

Red Globe Press

New historicism and cultural materialism emerged in the early 1980s as prominent literary theories and came to represent a revival of interest in history and in historicising literature. Their proponents rejected both formalist criticism and earlier attempts to read literature in its historical context and defined new ways of thinking about literature in relation to history. This study explains the development of these theories and demonstrates both their uses and weaknesses as critical practices. The potential future direction for the theories is explored and the controversial debates about their validity in literary studies are discussed.

Orwell to the Present: Literature in England, 1945-2000

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.

British & Irish

This book offers readings of Barker's innovations in narrative form, her revisionist perspectives on history, class and gender, and her preoccupation with themes of trauma, haunting and terror. It also analyzes the reasons for her success and significance as a novelist. The chapters draw on contemporary theories of critical realism, gender and social identities, memory and narrative, in order to outline the debates with which Barker's work has consistently engaged.

Pat Barker (Contemporary British Novelists)

Manchester University Press

This book provides a comprehensive account and critical analysis of the literary career of Pat Barker. It offers readings of Barker's innovations in narrative form, her revisionist perspectives on history, class and gender, and her preoccupation with themes of trauma, haunting and terror. It also analyses the reasons for her success and significance as a novelist. The chapters draw on contemporary theories of critical realism, gender and social identities, memory and narrative, in order to outline the debates with which Barker's work has consistently engaged. Brannigan argues that Barker is one of the most important writers in modern English literary history. She is principally renowned and widely acclaimed for her 'Regeneration' trilogy, the last volume of which, 'The Ghost Road', won the Booker Prize in 1995. In recent novels, Barker has continued to deal with controversial and shocking themes, including child murderers and the meanings of 'terror' in the contemporary world.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Archipelagic Modernism: Literature in the Irish and British Isles, 1890-1970

Offers a new archipelagic history of twentieth-century literature in Britain and Ireland Archipelagic Modernism examines the anglophone literatures of the archipelago from 1890 to 1970 for what they tell us about changing identities, geographies, and ecologies. The book argues that these literatures constitute an important resource for how we might begin to think about alternative political geographies, and alternative practices of belonging to place and environment. From the height of the British Empire in 1890, to the increasing sense by 1970 of the imminent'break-up' of Britain, 'archipelagic modernism' turned to the 'peripheral' spaces of islands, coastlines, and the sea to re-invent the Irish and British archipelago as a plural and connective space. Key Features: Questions established terms such as 'Modernism' or 'the Angry Young Men' and explores new terms such as 'critical realism' and literary developments such as 'the Scottish New Wave' Takes the study of 20th-century literature into the 21st century providing a single volume treatment of the distinct national literary traditions of the British Isles Provides students with a provocative revisionist approach and in-depth coverage

Edinburgh University Press

Offers a new archipelagic history of twentieth-century literature in Britain and IrelandArchipelagic Modernism examines the anglophone literatures of the archipelago from 1890 to 1970 for what they tell us about changing identities, geographies, and ecologies. The book argues that these literatures constitute an important resource for how we might begin to think about alternative political geographies, and alternative practices of belonging to place and environment. From the height of the British Empire in 1890, to the increasing sense by 1970 of the imminent'break-up' of Britain, 'archipelagic modernism' turned to the 'peripheral' spaces of islands, coastlines, and the sea to re-invent the Irish and British archipelago as a plural and connective space.Key Features:Questions established terms such as 'Modernism' or 'the Angry Young Men' and explores new terms such as 'critical realism' and literary developments such as 'the Scottish New Wave' Takes the study of 20th-century literature into the 21st century providing a single volume treatment of the distinct national literary traditions of the British Isles Provides students with a provocative revisionist approach and in-depth coverage

Assessing the state of post-war literature and its relation to English culture and society overall, Brannigan (English, Trinity College, Dublin) discusses conservatism, class, feminism, homosexuality, colonialism and its legacy, and the West Indian Literary Renaissance. He gives particular attention to the contributions of the Angry Young Men, the challenge that working-class writing presented to the affluent society, and post-colonial representations of England. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Literature, Culture and Society in Postwar England, 1945-1965 (Studies in British Literature, 57)

Edwin Mellen Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brannigan, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Brannigan, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brannigan, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

New Historicism and Cultural Materialism (Transitions (Palgrave))

New Historicism and Cultural Materialism (Transitions)

New Historicism and Cultural Materialism (Transitions)

Orwell to the Present: Literature in England, 1945-2000

Orwell to the Present: Literature in England, 1945-2000

Pat Barker (Contemporary British Novelists)

Pat Barker (Contemporary British Novelists)

Archipelagic Modernism: Literature in the Irish and British Isles, 1890-1970

Archipelagic Modernism: Literature in the Irish and British Isles, 1890-1970

Literature, Culture and Society in Postwar England, 1945-1965 (Studies in British Literature, 57)