How did social, cultural and political events in Britain during the 2000s shape contemporary British Fiction? The means of publishing, buying and reading fiction changed dramatically between 2000 and 2010. This volume explores how the socio-political and economic turns of the decade, bookended by the beginning of a millennium and an economic crisis, transformed the act of writing and reading. Detailed chapters look at the writers tracing and shaping the limits of being human through neurological fiction. Attention is given to the reinvigoration of psychogeography as a genre, dealing with the concerns of living in a virtual and globalized world, as well as the effects of reading groups and literary prizes and the reworking of fact and fiction in historical novels. This major literary assessment of the fiction of the 2000s covers the work of new voices such as Monica Ali, Mark Haddon, Tom McCarthy and Zadie Smith as well as Salman Rushdie, John Banville and Ian McEwan making it an essential contribution to reading, defining and understanding a decade marked by anxieties.

This collection explores the representation, articulation and construction of youth subcultures in a range of texts and contexts. It brings together scholars working in literary studies, screen studies, sociology and cultural studies whose research interests lie in the aesthetics and cultural politics of youth. It contributes to, and extends, contemporary theoretical perspectives around youth and youth cultures. Contributors examine a range of topics, including 'bad girl' fiction of the 1950s, novels by subcultural writers such as Colin MacInnes, Alex Wheatle and Courttia Newland, as well as screen representations of Mods, the 1990s Rave culture, heavy metal, and the Manchester scene. Others explore interventions into subcultural theory with respect to metal, subcultural locations, abjection, graffiti cultures, and the potential of subcultures to resist dominant power frameworks in both historical and contemporary contexts.

This book takes a fresh look at English fiction produced in the 1950s. By looking at a range of authors, some canonical, some less well known, it shows that the novel of the period was far more diverse and formally experimental than previous accounts have suggested. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary literary and cultural theories, the author examines the way in which issues and anxieties in 1950s society were articulated and addressed in fiction. These issues include the reformulation of Englishness in a rapidly decolonizing world; anxieties about immigration, racism, class and classlessness; new configurations of gender; and the fear of the Americanization of working-class culture, especially in the way it appeared to be influencing English youth. The first part of the book identifies some of these anxieties, and the response to them in non-fiction and writing by the emerging New Left. The second part contains a theoretically informed reading of important Fifties novels by Kingsley Amis, John Wain, Muriel Spark, Alan Sillitoe, Colin MacInnes and Sam Selvon.

The 1990s proved to be a particularly rich and fascinating period for British fiction. This book provides a fresh perspective on the diverse writings that appeared during the decade, bringing together leading academics in the field in order to:
Trace the concerns that emerged as central to 1990s fiction, in sections on millennial anxieties, identity politics, the relationship between the contemporary and the historical, and representations of contemporary space
Offer distinctive new readings of the most important novelists of the period, including Martin Amis, Beryl Bainbridge, Pat Barker, Julian Barnes, A. S. Byatt, Hanif Kureishi, Ian McEwan, Iain Sinclair, Zadie Smith and Jeanette Winterson
Show how British fiction engages with major cultural debates of the 1990s, such as the concern with representing various identities and cultural groups, or theories of "the end of history"
Discuss 1990s fiction in relation to broader literary and critical theories, including postmodernism, post-feminism and postcolonialism
Together the essays highlight the ways in which the writing of the 1990s represents a development of the themes and styles of the post-war novel generally, yet displays a range of characteristics distinct to the decade. "British Fiction of the 1990s" is essential reading for those working in the field of recent fiction or studying any of the authors discussed.

The 1990s proved to be a particularly rich and fascinating period for British fiction. This book provides a fresh perspective on the diverse writings that appeared during the decade, bringing together leading academics in the field in order to:
Trace the concerns that emerged as central to 1990s fiction, in sections on millennial anxieties, identity politics, the relationship between the contemporary and the historical, and representations of contemporary space
Offer distinctive new readings of the most important novelists of the period, including Martin Amis, Beryl Bainbridge, Pat Barker, Julian Barnes, A. S. Byatt, Hanif Kureishi, Ian McEwan, Iain Sinclair, Zadie Smith and Jeanette Winterson
Show how British fiction engages with major cultural debates of the 1990s, such as the concern with representing various identities and cultural groups, or theories of "the end of history"
Discuss 1990s fiction in relation to broader literary and critical theories, including postmodernism, post-feminism and postcolonialism
Together the essays highlight the ways in which the writing of the 1990s represents a development of the themes and styles of the post-war novel generally, yet displays a range of characteristics distinct to the decade. "British Fiction of the 1990s" is essential reading for those working in the field of recent fiction or studying any of the authors discussed.

This collection explores the representation, articulation and construction of youth subcultures in a range of texts and contexts. It brings together scholars working in literary studies, screen studies, sociology and cultural studies whose research interests lie in the aesthetics and cultural politics of youth. It contributes to, and extends, contemporary theoretical perspectives around youth and youth cultures. Contributors examine a range of topics, including 'bad girl' fiction of the 1950s, novels by subcultural writers such as Colin MacInnes, Alex Wheatle and Courttia Newland, as well as screen representations of Mods, the 1990s Rave culture, heavy metal, and the Manchester scene. Others explore interventions into subcultural theory with respect to metal, subcultural locations, abjection, graffiti cultures, and the potential of subcultures to resist dominant power frameworks in both historical and contemporary contexts.

How did social, cultural and political events in Britain during the 1950s shape modern British fiction? As Britain emerged from the shadow of war into the new decade of the 1950s, the seeds of profound social change were being sown. Exploring the full range of fiction in the 1950s, this volume surveys the ways in which these changes were reflected in British culture. Chapters cover the rise of the 'Angry Young Men', an emerging youth culture and vivid new voices from immigrant and feminist writers. A major critical re-evaluation of the decade, the book covers such writers as Margery Allingham, Kingsley Amis, E. R. Braithwaite, Rodney Garland, Martyn Goff, Attia Hosain, George Lamming, Marghanita Laski, Doris Lessing, Colin MacInnes, Naomi Mitchison, V. S. Naipaul, Barbara Pym, Mary Renault, Sam Selvon, Alan Sillitoe, John Sommerfield, Muriel Spark, J. R. R. Tolkien, Angus Wilson and John Wyndham.

Martin Amis is one of the most important and distinctive writers of the last thirty years and his work continues to provoke controversy and debate. From his first novel, The Rachel Papers (1973) to his more recent Lionel Asbo (2012) his fiction has engaged with the major movements in literary and critical theory over the last four decades. His experimental approach to the novel form, his creation of complex and memorable characters, and his acute awareness of the relationship between fiction and reality mark out the distinctive elements of Amis' work. In addition, his often-controversial representations of class, gender and race make him an important and provocative figure for contemporary literary studies. This book provides a critical survey and evaluation of his major works, identifying his commitment to stylistic expression and experiment alongside the ways in which his novels have engaged with social, cultural and political issues.

'Billy Liar' tells the story of Billy Fisher, a teenager unable to stop lying especially to his three girlfriends. Trapped by his boring job and working-class parents, Billy finds that his only happiness lies in grand plans for his future and fantastical day-dreams of the fictional country Ambrosia.

This essential guide provides a comprehensive survey of the most important debates in the criticism and research of contemporary British fiction. Nick Bentley analyses the criticism surrounding a range of British novelists including Monica Ali, Martin Amis, Pat Barker, Alan Hollinghurst, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, David Mitchell, Ali Smith, Zadie Smith, Sarah Waters and Jeanette Winterson. Exploring experiments with literary form, this authoritative book considers cutting-edge concerns relating to the neo-historical novel, the relationship between literature and science, literary geographies, and trauma narratives. Engaging with key literary theories, and identifying present trends and future directions in the literary criticism of contemporary British fiction, this is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students of English literature, teachers, researchers and scholars.

How did social, cultural and political events in Britain during the 2000s shape contemporary British fiction? The means of publishing, buying and reading fiction changed dramatically between 2000 and 2010. This volume explores how the socio-political and economic turns of the decade, bookended by the beginning of a millennium and an economic crisis, transformed the act of writing and reading. Through consideration of, among other things, the treatment of neuroscience, violence, the historical and youth subcultures in recent fiction, the essays in this collection explore the complex and still powerful relation between the novel and the world in which it is written, published and read. This major literary assessment of the fiction of the 2000s covers the work of newer voices such as Monica Ali, Mark Haddon, Tom McCarthy, David Peace and Zadie Smith as well as those more established, such as Salman Rushdie, Hilary Mantel and Ian McEwan making it an essential contribution to reading, defining and understanding the decade.

Nick Bentley provides an introduction to the major novelists and the main themes in narrative fiction over the last 35 years. He offers a critical discussion of important debates in contemporary fiction engaging with concepts such as postmodernism; the impact of feminism and gender in literary studies; the rise of postcolonial literary theory; and the place of fiction within broader debates in contemporary culture. Bentley offers thought-provoking analysis of a range of British writers including Martin Amis, A.S. Byatt, Angela Carter, Ian McEwan, Hanif Kureishi, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith and Jeanette Winterson.

The book grounds the discussion of selected novels in the historical and theoretical contexts of the period. It opens with a chronology followed by a comprehensive Introduction that provides a historical context to the study of contemporary British fiction by detailing significant social, political and cultural events of the period 1975-2005. This is followed by five chapters organized around the core themes: (1) Narrative Forms, (2) Contemporary Ethnicities, (3) Gender and Sexuality, (4) History, Memory and Writing, and (5) Narratives of Cultural Space. A Conclusion, Student Resources and Glossary close the book.
Key Features

*Introduces the major themes and trends in British fiction over the last 35 years
*Analyses a range of writers and texts including "Brick Lane" by Monica Ali, "London Fields" by Martin Amis; "The Passion of New Eve" by Angela Carter; "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby; "Atonement" by Ian McEwan, Shame by Salman Rushdie, "Downriver" by Iain Sinclair, and "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith
*Presents a variety of critical perspectives essential forstudying contemporary British fiction
*Provides essential resources for further reading and research