A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945–2000

Sep 18, 2026

A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945–2000 provides newly written surveys of key periods, movements, and major authors within English literary culture and history. It offers perspectives on contexts and on canonical and postcanonical texts, guiding beginning students in new fields while supporting experienced undergraduates and new graduate researchers with current directions. The volume includes bibliographical references and an index and is organized into parts covering literary contexts and major thematic developments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages606

Reading Time15 h 33 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Notes on Contributors

Preface

Acknowledgments

PART I Contexts for the British and Irish Novel, 1945–2000

1 The Literary Response to the Second World War

2 The “Angry” Decade and After

3 English Dystopian Satire in Context

4 The Feminist Novel in the Wake of Virginia Woolf

5 Postmodern Fiction and the Rise of Critical Theory

6 The Novel and the End of Empire

7 Postcolonial Novels and Theories

8 Fictions of Belonging: National Identity and the Novel in Ireland and Scotland

9 Black British Interventions

10 The Recuperation of History in British and Irish Fiction

11 The Literary Prize Phenomenon in Context

12 Novelistic Production and the Publishing Industry in Britain and Ireland

13 The Novel and the Rise of Film and Video: Adaptation and British Cinema

A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945–2000 Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture This series offers comprehensive, newly written surveys of key periods and movements and certain major authors, in English literary culture and history. Extensive volumes provide new perspectives and positions on contexts and on canonical and postcanonical texts, orientating the beginning student in new fields of study and providing the experienced undergraduate and new graduate with current and new directions, as pioneered and developed by leading scholars in the field. Published 1 A Companion to Romanticism Edited by Duncan Wu 2 A Companion to Victorian Literature and Culture Edited by Herbert F. Tucker 3 A Companion to Shakespeare Edited by David Scott Kastan 4 A Companion to the Gothic Edited by David Punter 5 A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare Edited by Dympna Callaghan 6 A Companion to Chaucer Edited by Peter Brown 7 A Companion to Literature from Milton to Blake Edited by David Womersley 8 A Companion to English Renaissance Literature and Culture Edited by Michael Hattaway 9 A Companion to Milton Edited by Thomas N. Corns 10 A Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry Edited by Neil Roberts 11 A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature and Edited by Phillip Pulsiano and Culture Elaine Treharne 12 A Companion to Restoration Drama Edited by Susan J. Owen 13 A Companion to Early Modern Women’s Writing Edited by Anita Pacheco 14 A Companion to Renaissance Drama Edited by Arthur F. Kinney 15 A Companion to Victorian Poetry Edited by Richard Cronin, Antony H. Harrison and Alison Chapman 16 A Companion to the Victorian Novel Edited by Patrick Brantlinger and William B. Thesing 17–20 A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works, Volumes I–IV Edited by Richard Dutton and Jean E.Howard 21 A Companion to the Regional Literatures of America Edited by Charles L. Crow 22 A Companion to Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism Edited by Walter Jost and Wendy Olmsted 23 A Companion to the Literature and Culture of the American South Edited by Richard Gray and Owen Robinson 24 A Companion to American Fiction 1780–1865 Edited by Shirley Samuels 25 A Companion to American Fiction 1865–1914 Edited by G. R. Thompson and Robert Paul Lamb 26 A Companion to Digital Humanities Edited by Susan Schreibman, Ray Siemens, and John Unsworth 27 A Companion to Romance Edited by Corinne Saunders 28 A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945–2000 Edited by Brian W. Shaffer 29 A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama Edited by David Krasner 􀀁 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd except for editorial material and organization 􀀁 2005 by Brian W. Shaffer BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Brian W. Shaffer to be identified as the Author of the Editorial Material in this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A companion to the British and Irish novel 1945–2000 / edited by Brian W. Shaffer. [p. cm](p. cm).—(Blackwell companions to literature and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-4051-1375-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. English fiction—20th century—History and criticism—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. English fiction—Irish authors—History and criticism—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3.Ireland—Intellectual life— 20th century—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 4.Ireland—

FAQs

What is the scope of A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945–2000?

It surveys key periods and movements and certain major authors in English literary culture and history, focusing on contexts and major textual developments from 1945 to 2000.

How is the book organized?

The contents list a set of front matter items and then Part I devoted to contexts for the British and Irish novel 1945–2000, followed by numbered chapters on specific themes.

Does the volume include academic references and index material?

Yes. The book includes bibliographical references and an index, as stated in the catalog information.

Sep 18, 2026

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