Marginality in the Contemporary British Novel

by Nicola Allen

Overview

The 'Marginal' as a concept has become an integral part of the British novel as it stands at the turn of the century.  Both popular and literary fiction since the mid-1970s has seen an increasing emphasis on the marginal subject. 

This study offers readings of a wide range of contemporary British novels that represent characters or communities at the margin of society. Nicola Allen analyses three conceptual categories representing the marginal subject in the contemporary British novel: the character of the misfit or outsider; the emergence of the grotesque; and the rediscovery of previously marginalized narratives such as myth and fantasy.  This innovative and original monograph focuses on the contention that the contemporary novel of marginality conveys a belief in the socially transformative powers of narrative, and suggests that narrative has played a central role in bringing marginal politics and marginal issues to the fore in contemporary Britain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441147363
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/27/2011
Series:	Continuum Literary Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Nicola Allen is Lecturer in Contemporary British Fiction at The University of Northampton, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Critical Concepts
2. The Status of the Marginal in Contemporary British Fiction
3. The Misfit Protagonist
4. Personal Histories and Renewed Myths
5. Satire and the Grotesque
6. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index