Exploring fiction, film and art from across the USA, South America, Asia, Europe and Australia, 'New Suburban Stories' brings together new research from leading international scholars to examine cultural representations of the suburbs, home to a rapidly increasing proportion of the world's population. Focusing in particular on works that challenge conventional attitudes to suburbia, the book considers how suburban communities have taken control of their own representation to tell their own stories in contemporary novels, poetry, autobiography, cinema, social media and public art.

Explores how American writers articulate the complexity of twentieth-century suburbia Examines the ways American writers from the 1960s to the present - including John Updike, Richard Ford, Gloria Naylor, Jeffrey Eugenides, D. J. Waldie, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Díaz and John Barth - have sought to articulate the complexity of the US suburbs Analyses the relationships between literary form and the spatial and temporal dimensions of the environment Scrutinises increasingly prominent literary and cultural forms including novel sequences, memoir, drama, graphic novels and short story cycles Combines insights drawn from recent historiography of the US suburbs and cultural geography with analyses of over twenty-five texts to provide a fresh outlook on the literary history of American suburbia The Literature of Suburban Change examines the diverse body of cultural material produced since 1960 responding to the defining habitat of twentieth-century USA: the suburbs. Martin Dines analyses how writers have innovated across a range of forms and genres - including novel sequences, memoirs, plays, comics and short story cycles - in order to make sense of the complexity of suburbia. Drawing on insights from recent historiography and cultural geography, Dines offers a new perspective on the literary history of the US suburbs. He argues that by giving time back to these apparently timeless places, writers help reactivate the suburbs, presenting them not as fixed, finished and familiar but rather as living, multifaceted environments that are still in production and under exploration.

Explores how American writers articulate the complexity of twentieth-century suburbia Examines the ways American writers from the 1960s to the present - including John Updike, Richard Ford, Gloria Naylor, Jeffrey Eugenides, D. J. Waldie, Alison Bechdel, Chris Ware, Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz and John Barth - have sought to articulate the complexity of the US suburbs Analyses the relationships between literary form and the spatial and temporal dimensions of the environment Scrutinises increasingly prominent literary and cultural forms including novel sequences, memoir, drama, graphic novels and short story cycles Combines insights drawn from recent historiography of the US suburbs and cultural geography with analyses of over twenty-five texts to provide a fresh outlook on the literary history of American suburbia The Literature of Suburban Change examines the diverse body of cultural material produced since 1960 responding to the defining habitat of twentieth-century USA: the suburbs. Martin Dines analyses how writers have innovated across a range of forms and genres - including novel sequences, memoirs, plays, comics and short story cycles - in order to make sense of the complexity of suburbia. Drawing on insights from recent historiography and cultural geography, Dines offers a new perspective on the literary history of the US suburbs. He argues that by giving time back to these apparently timeless places, writers help reactivate the suburbs, presenting them not as fixed, finished and familiar but rather as living, multifaceted environments that are still in production and under exploration.

" B]rave . . . plainly the work of an intelligent novelist." - "Times Literary Supplement"
"It is doubtful whether since male homosexuality was admitted as a subject for treatment in English fiction it has inspired a more satisfactory novel than Martyn Goff's "The Plaster Fabric."" - "Spectator"
"Mr. Goff's earnest handling of his extremely delicate subject, homosexuality, commends him to serious attention . . . The sense of impending doom, of the hostility of society, of insecurity, and the constant terror of betrayal are all well conceived." - John Betjeman, "Daily Telegraph"
When Martyn Goff's daring first novel, "The Plaster Fabric," was published in 1957, homosexuality was illegal in Great Britain and both Goff and his publisher risked prosecution for the book's frank treatment of gay themes. Laurence "Laurie" Kingston, a former Air Force pilot now working as a bookseller and artist, is a man with a secret. Born gay, Laurie has spun a web of lies to conceal his homosexuality, which, if discovered, could cost him his job, his friends, and even his freedom. After a chance encounter one foggy night with Tom Beeson, a rugged soldier, Laurie finds himself falling in love. But the situation becomes complicated when Laurie's best friend, Susan, also falls for Tom. When Laurie becomes involved in this complicated triangle, he runs the risk of losing everything as the fabric of his carefully constructed life begins to chip away like flakes of plaster . . .
A novel that deserves a place alongside early gay classics like Rodney Garland's "The Heart in Exile" (1953) and Mary Renault's "The Charioteer" (1953), "The Plaster Fabric" is reprinted for the first time in this new edition, which includes a new introduction by Martin Dines and a reproduction of the original jacket art by John Minton.

Exploring fiction, film and art from across the USA, South America, Asia, Europe and Australia, New Suburban Stories brings together new research from leading international scholars to examine cultural representations of the suburbs, home to a rapidly increasing proportion of the world's population. Focussing in particular on works that challenge conventional attitudes to suburbia, the book considers how suburban communities have taken control of their own representation to tell their own stories in contemporary novels, poetry, autobiography, cinema, social media and public art.

'Mr. Goff writes compassionately and he has a gift for bringing out the drama in people's ordinary confrontations with each other.' - "Sunday Times"
'A sophisticated book which demonstrates the conflict between private desires and public eminence.' - "John O'London's"
' R]ewarding . . . a story that is altogether plausible, entertaining, and not weighed down with tragedy.' - "Mattachine Review"
At 32, Leonard Bissel seems to have everything going for him: newly appointed as the youngest director of a major London corporation, he has a posh house in Chelsea, a shiny black MG, and a promising new relationship. There's just one problem: Leonard's boss and his family expect him to marry, not knowing that he is secretly gay and wants nothing more than to settle down in a stable relationship with his partner, John. As Leonard's employer and his parents increase the pressure on him to marry, he will be faced with an impossible decision: is he willing to give up his job, his family, his home, and everything he's worked for in order to remain true to his own identity and the person he loves?
Published in 1961, when homosexuality was still illegal in England, Martyn Goff's "The Youngest Director" is a landmark of British gay fiction. A gripping story exposing the injustice and prejudice faced by gay men in the mid-20th century, Goff's novel remains highly topical today as gay rights and the struggle for marriage equality continue to dominate the headlines. This edition, the first in 30 years, includes a new introduction by Martin Dines and an afterword by the author.