The Oxford English Literary History: Volume 12: The Last of England?

English Literature in the 1960s soon threw off its post-war weariness and the tepid influences of the previous decade. New voices, new visions, and new commitments profoundly reshaped writing during the 60s, and throughout the rest of the century. Drama thrived on its rapidly rebuilt foundations. New freedoms of style and form revitalised fiction. Poetry, too, gradually recovered the variety and inventiveness of earlier years. As well ascomprehensively charting these changes in the literary field, Randall Stevenson persuasively pinpoints their origins in the historical, social, and intellectual pressures of the times. Literary developmentsare revealingly related to the wider evolution and profound changes in English experience in the late twentieth-century to shadows of war and loss of empire; declining influences of class; shifting relations between the genders; emergent minority and counter-cultures; and the broadening democratization of contemporary life in general. Analyses of the rise of literary theory, of publishing and the book trade, and of the pervasive influences of modernism and postmodernismcontribute further to an impressively thorough, insightful description of writing in the later twentieth-century a literary period Stevenson shows to be far more imaginative and exciting than has yetbeen recognised. Lucid, accessible, and engaging, this volume of the Oxford English Literary History presents a unique illumination of its age - one we have lived through, but are only just beginning to understand. The first full account of its period, it will set the agenda for discussion of late twentieth-century literature for many years to come.

Winner of Saltire Society Research Book of the Year - Joint Winner 2004.

“'wish I had written The Last of England? What a well-researched, carefullyconsidered and deeply felt work it is. Stevenson can certainly coin phrases thatlinger in the mind. From the pithy "what history refuses, culture provides" tothe poetic - that playwright Peter Shaffer's protagonists are "sceptics stilllusting for transcendence" - Stevenson makes you sit up and take note.'Gary Day, Tribune”

John Carey's recent review of Randall Stevenson's The Oxford Literary History in which Carey disparaged Stevenson's choice of Alain Robbe-Grillet as the model novelist of the mid-20th century, made me rush out to buy the Stevenson. All that talk of disjointed narratives, the reader as author, and writing that challenged whoever encountered it, made Stevenson sound like my kind of writer.'Bonnie Greer, Books and the Box, Guardian Weekend magazineone of the most fascinating aspects of this wide-ranging and readable book is the sense it gives of how literature fits into the wider cultural landscape - and of just how far the reach of culture has extended in recent decades...Unabashedly forward-looking, this book doesn't shirk its duties as a reference companion: look up any reasonably well known name and you'll find somthing succinctly informative, and insightful.'Michael Kerrigan, The ScotsmanThe Last of England? surveys the period of diverse poetry, drama and fiction with perceptive, self-effacing reasonableness.'Jeremy Noel-Tod, Saturday TelegraphHis chapter on social history and the book trade is excellent.'John Carey, The Sunday Times BooksSensibly enough, he focuses on the English balancing act between tradition and experiment, awarding maximum points to the writers who have most successfully combined the two.'The Sunday Telegraphwish I had written The Last of England? What a well-researched, carefully considered and deeply felt work it is. Stevenson can certainly coin phrases that linger in the mind. From the pithy "what history refuses, culture provides" to the poetic - that playwright Peter Shaffer's protagonists are "sceptics still lusting for transcendence" - Stevenson makes you sit up and take note.'Gary Day, TribuneWhat a well researched, carefully considered and deeply felt work it is. There is a nugget on practically every page. Stevenson makes you sit up and take note.'Gary Day, THES'very impressive survey of the history of the late 20th century Enlgish literature''Kevin Davey, The Tribune

Randall Stevenson is Reader in English Literature and Deputy Head of Department at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of Modernist Fiction (1992; revd. edn, 1998); A Reader's Guide to the Twentieth Century Novel in Britain (1993); The British Novel Since the Thirties (1986), as well as many articles on modernist and postmodernist fiction.

English Literature in the 1960s soon threw off its post-war weariness and the tepid influences of the previous decade. New voices, new visions, and new commitments profoundly reshaped writing during the 60s, and throughout the rest of the century. Drama thrived on its rapidly rebuilt foundations. New freedoms of style and form revitalised fiction. Poetry, too, gradually recovered the variety and inventiveness of earlier years. As well as comprehensively charting these changes in the literary field, Randall Stevenson persuasively pinpoints their origins in the historical, social, and intellectual pressures of the times. Literary developments are revealingly related to the wider evolution and profound changes in English experience in the late twentieth-century to shadows of war and loss of empire; declining influences of class; shifting relations between the genders; emergent minority and counter-cultures; and the broadening democratization of contemporary life in general. Analyses of the rise of literary theory, of publishing and the book trade, and of the pervasive influences of modernism and postmodernism contribute further to an impressively thorough, insightful description of writing in the later twentieth-century a literary period Stevenson shows to be far more imaginative and exciting than has yet been recognised. Lucid, accessible, and engaging, this volume of the Oxford English Literary History presents a unique illumination of its age - one we have lived through, but are only just beginning to understand. The first full account of its period, it will set the agenda for discussion of late twentieth-century literature for many years to come.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.