1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456765103321

Autore

Turner Nick (Nick Peter)

Titolo

Post-war British women novelists and the canon / Nick Turner

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; New York, : Continuum, 2010

ISBN

1-4725-4270-3

1-282-59075-8

9786612590757

1-4411-7888-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (202 p.)

Collana

Continuum literary studies series

Disciplina

823.914099287

Soggetti

English fiction - 20th century - History and criticism

English fiction - Women authors - History and criticism

Canon (Literature)

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (pages [166]-186) and index

Nota di contenuto

Preface -- Introduction: The Field of Modern Women Writers -- 1. Theories of the Canon -- 2. Iris Murdoch -- 3. Anita Brookner -- 4. Ruth Rendell -- 5. Emma Tennant -- Conclusion: The Contemporary Scene -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

With the increasing number of books on contemporary fiction, there is a need for a work that examines whom we value, and why. These questions lie at the heart of this book which, by focusing on four novelists, literary and popular, interrogates the canon over the last fifty years. The argument unfolds to demonstrate that academic trends increasingly control canonicity, as do the demands of genre, the increasing commercialisation of literature, and the power of the literary prize. Turner argues that literary excellence, demonstrated by style and imaginative power, is often missing in many works that have become modern classics and makes a case for the value of the 'universal' in literature. Written in a jargon-free style, with reference to many supporting writers, the book raises a number of significant cultural questions about the arts, fashions and literary reputations, of interest to readers in contemporary literary studies.