Since Mentor, Telemachus' advisor in Homer's Odyssey, gave name to the figure of the "wise teacher," fictional representations of mentoring have permeated classic and contemporary cultural texts of different literary genres such as fiction, poetry, and life writing. The contributions of this volume explore wisdom in old age through a series of narratives of mentorship which, either from a critical or a personal perspective, undermine ageist views of later life.

This study takes its point of departure from thepremise that, despite the progressive ageing ofWestern society, the process of ageing is surroundedby negative connotations and contradictions.Throughout history, Western art and literature havepresented old age as a period of loss and dependency.In present times, consumer culture overwhelms us withmessages of eternal youth, offering a wide range ofproducts and techniques. Thus, the body that has keptits youth and vigour is considered virtuous whereasthe body that looks 'old' becomes synonymous withsterility, illness and dependency. Taking symbolicinteractionism as a methodological framework andtwenty-six novels by fourteen English contemporaryauthors as a data-base, this study sets out todemonstrate that, while not denying the biologicalelement, the negative connotations attached to theageing body are mainly based on cultural beliefs.

Focusing on the contemporary period, this book brings together critical age studies and contemporary science fiction to establish the centrality of age and ageing in dystopian, speculative and science-fiction imaginaries. Analysing texts from Europe, North America and South Asia, as well as television programmes and films, the contributions range from essays which establish genre-based trends in the representation of age and ageing, to very focused studies of particular texts and concerns. As a whole, the volume probes the relationship between speculative/science fiction and our understanding of what it is to be a human in time: the time of our own lives and the times of both the past and the future.

Serialized storytelling provides intriguing opportunities for critical representations of age and aging. In contrast to the finite character of films, television narratives can unfold across hundreds of episodes and multiple seasons. Contemporary viewing practices and new media technologies have resulted in complex television narratives, in which experimental temporalities and revisions of narrative linearity and chronological time have become key features. As the first of its kind, this volume investigates how TV series as a powerful cultural medium shape representations of age and aging, such as in "Orange Is The New Black", "The Wire" or "Desperate Housewives", to understand what it means to live in time.