Middlebrow Modernism: Eleanor Dark's Interwar Fiction

Eleanor Dark (1901-85) is an innovative 20th-century Australian writer whose extensive oeuvre includes ten novels published from the early 1930s to the late 1950s. Middlebrow Modernism is the first full-length critical survey of her writing to be published in over four decades, focusing on the fiction she produced during the interwar years and reading it in the context of her larger body of work. It argues that Dark's fiction exhibits a distinctive aesthetic of middlebrow modernism, which blends attributes of literary modernism with popular fiction and seeks to mediate and reconcile apparent binaries such as modernism and mass culture, liberal humanism and experimental aesthetics, settler society and international modernity.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 01 October 2022
Publisher: Sydney University Press

Eleanor Dark (1901-85) stands as one of Australia's most pioneering and innovative writers of the 20th century. Her extensive literary portfolio encompasses ten novels, which were published between the early 1930s and the late 1950s. What sets Dark's work apart is her unique position within settler culture, allowing her to engage deeply with global modernity. Regrettably, her contribution to 20th-century literature has been overlooked in both Australian literary studies and world literature. Despite the existence of two biographies about her life, there has not been a comprehensive critical study of her writing published since 1976.

In response to this neglect, Middlebrow Modernism emerges as the first full-length critical survey of Eleanor Dark's writing in over four decades. Focusing on the fiction she produced during the interwar years, this book situates Dark's writing within the broader context of her entire body of work. By doing so, it establishes her as a significant figure in the study of Australian literature and global modernism.

Melinda Cooper, in her analysis, argues that Dark's fiction exhibits a distinctive aesthetic of middlebrow modernism, which seamlessly blends attributes of literary modernism with popular fiction. This aesthetic seeks to mediate and reconcile apparent binaries such as modernism and mass culture, liberal humanism and experimental aesthetics, settler society and international modernity. The term "middlebrow modernism" also captures the way Dark navigated cosmopolitan commitments with deeper attachments to her nation and local community during the mid-20th century.

Middlebrow Modernism posits that Dark's fiction and the broader phenomenon of Australian modernism offer valuable case studies for larger debates within global modernist and world literature studies. By providing perspectives that these fields might otherwise miss, Dark's work contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities and nuances of 20th-century literature and culture.

In conclusion, Eleanor Dark's remarkable literary legacy deserves to be recognized and celebrated. Middlebrow Modernism provides a vital contribution to our understanding of her writing and its significance in the broader context of Australian literature and global modernism. It is a testament to the enduring power of her work and the importance of reassessing and valuing the contributions of underappreciated writers.

Dimension: 254 x 178 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781743328569