This book maps the most active and vibrant period in the history of British women's writing. Examining changes and continuities in fiction, poetry, drama, and journalism, as well as women's engagement with a range of literary and popular genres, the essays in this volume highlight the range and diversity of women's writing since 1970.

British culture after Empire is the first collection of its kind to explore the intertwined social, cultural and political aftermath of empire in Britain from 1945 up to and beyond the Brexit referendum of 2016, combining approaches from the fields of history, English and cultural studies. Against those who would deny, downplay or attempt to forget Britain's imperial legacy, the various contributions expose and explore how the British Empire and the consequences of its end continue to shape Britain at the local, national and international level. As an important and urgent intervention in a field of increasing relevance within and beyond the academy, the book offers fresh perspectives on the colonial hangovers in post-colonial Britain from up-and-coming as well as established scholars. -- .

Exploring how legacies of British colonialism have shaped modern life narrative, this book offers comparative studies of four white life writers — Penelope Lively, J. G. Ballard, Doris Lessing and Janet Frame — who wrote and rewrote their childhoods in colonies, international settlements, and protectorates of the British Empire across numerous autobiographical texts. By drawing on their life writings, frequently side-lined for their fiction, Emma Parker illuminates hitherto unrecognized connections between these authors after they travelled from their respective childhood homes in Egypt (Lively), Shanghai (Ballard), Southern Rhodesia (Lessing) and New Zealand (Frame), arriving in London across a twelve-year period from 1945-1957. With their autobiographies intersecting at a crucial historical juncture when colonial rule was being dismantled, this book asks what it means to be ‘at home’ in the former British Empire, scrutinizing the spaces of habitation and the everyday details through which all four authors remember colonialism, from settler mansions and African farms, to empty swimming pools, heirlooms and photograph albums. Rounding off with an examination of material cultures at the end of empire, Parker emphasizes how four particular artefacts (a tallboy, a suitcase, a traveller’s trunk and a duchesse dresser) emblematize and unlock the legacies of colonialism for Lively, Ballard, Lessing and Frame. When read together, these autobiographical texts reveal how empire and its aftermath seeped into everyday life, and that imperialism functioned as part of a given world both during and after colonial rule. Also coining the term ‘speculative life writing’, describing the practice wherein an author rewrites their previous memoirs or autobiographies with an alternative outcome, this book advances rich readings and new conceptual insights into these esteemed authors and the fields of life writing and postcolonial studies.

Essays illustrating the range and diversity of post-1970 British women writers. Despite the enduring popularity of contemporary women's writing, British women writers have received scant critical attention. They tend to be overshadowed by their American counterparts in the media and have come to be represented within the academy almost exclusively by Angela Carter and Jeanette Winterson. This collection celebrates the range and diversity of contemporary (post-1970) British women writers. It challenges misconceptions about the natureand scope of fiction by women writers working in Britain - commonly dismissed as parochial, insular, dreary and domestic - and seeks to expand conventional definitions of "British" by exploring how issues of nationality intersectwith gender, class, race and sexuality. Writers covered include Pat Barker, A.L. Kennedy, Maggie Gee, Rukhsana Ahmad, Joan Riley, Jennifer Johnston, Ellen Galford, Susan Hill, Fay Weldon, Emma Tennant, and Helen Fielding. Contributors: DAVID ELLIS, CLARE HANSON, MAROULA JOANNOU, PAULINA PALMER, EMMA PARKER, FELICITY ROSSLYN, CHRISTIANE SCHLOTE, JOHN SEARS, ELUNED SUMMERS-BREMNER, IMELDA WHELEHAN, GINA WISKER.

Originally published in 1934 and rushed to press only three months after Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker met their bloody end, Fugitives: The Story of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, offers a behind the scenes glimpse into the lives of two of America's most infamous criminals. The story is told by their family members who often met them in secret locations and dreaded the news of their deaths daily. While some researchers question many of the facts in the original book, it does contain letters, diary entries and more that that will help the reader draw their own conclusions about this deadly duo.

Published fifty years after the premiere of Entertaining Mr Sloane in 1964, and with a new introduction, this anniversary edition offers an opportunity to reappraise Joe Orton's reputation, and the status of his first major play, from a twenty-first century perspective. When it first appeared in the Swinging Sixties, Orton's satire on social and sexual hypocrisy both scandalized and delighted audiences. Its mix of sexuality and violence was explosive. Within a year, the play was being performed around the world and went on to be adapted for film and television, establishing Orton as a major voice and this play as one of the most ground-breaking of the century. This anniversary edition features previously unpublished material from the Joe Orton Archive, an interview with director Nick Bagnall, and an introduction by Emma Parker, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Leicester.

This book maps the most active and vibrant period in the history of British women's writing. Examining changes and continuities in fiction, poetry, drama, and journalism, as well as women's engagement with a range of literary and popular genres, the essays in this volume highlight the range and diversity of women's writing since 1970.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

The "Continuum Contemporaries" series is designed to be a source of ideas and inspiration for members of book clubs and reading groups, as well as for literature students at school, college and university. The series aims to give readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. The books in the series all follow the same structure, which features: a biography of the novelist, including other works, influences and, in some cases, an interview; a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the important themes and ideas; summaries of how the novel was received upon publication and how it has performed since publication, including film or TV adaptations and literary prizes; a wide range of suggestions for further reading, including websites; and a list of questions for reading groups or students to discuss.