Vagabond Fictions: Gender and Experiment in British Women's Writing, 1945-1970

Carole Sweeney examines British women's experimental writing in historical contexts, 1945-1970, providing a detailed literary history and close critical readings. She considers literature in changing cultural and technological contexts, including the BBC, the Arts Council, and avant-garde publishing houses. Sweeney offers detailed biographical information on each writer based on original archival research and argues that they engaged in diverse formal experiments that challenge the critical commonplace suggesting a wholesale return to realism after the end of aesthetic modernism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 31 October 2020
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

British women's experimental writing in historical contexts, 1945-1970: A Literary History
British women's experimental writing in post-war Britain has been the subject of much scholarly attention in recent years, but a comprehensive literary history of the genre has yet to be written. This book aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed historical overview of women's experimental writing in post-war Britain, combined with close critical readings and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.

The book considers literature in changing cultural and technological contexts of production, including the BBC, the Arts Council, and avant-garde publishing houses. It offers detailed biographical information on each writer based on original archival research carried out in the British Library and at the Harry Ransom Centre at the University of Texas.

The book focuses on five experimental writers who have been neglected in accounts of the development of post-1945 British literature: Anna Kavan, Brigid Brophy, Christine Brooke-Rose, Eva Figes, and Ann Quin. Each of these writers engaged in diverse formal experiments that challenge the critical commonplace suggesting that after the end of aesthetic modernism, the mid-century British novel was characterised by a wholesale return to realism.

Avoiding any insistence on a straightforward opposition between literary realism and experimentalism, this study draws upon original archival and biographical material and offers close readings of the creative and critical work of these "vagabond" writers, demonstrating how they wrote against aesthetic and thematic conventions of their times and negotiated (and often repudiated) concepts of feminine writing.

The book begins with a brief overview of the historical context of women's experimental writing in post-war Britain, including the impact of the Second World War, the rise of feminism, and the emergence of new literary movements such as the New Wave and the Beat Generation. It then moves on to examine the work of each writer in detail, focusing on their formal experiments, their critical reception, and their influence on subsequent generations of writers.

Anna Kavan's work is characterized by a sense of dislocation and alienation, as she explores the psychological and social consequences of war and modernity. Her novels include Ice (1967), The Ice People (1970), and The Passion (1971), which are known for their experimental use of language and imagery.

Brigid Brophy's work is characterized by a feminist critique of traditional gender roles and the male-dominated literary establishment. Her novels include The Blood of the Martyrs (1969), The Dark (1970), and The Darkest Room (1971), which are known for their experimental use of language and imagery.

Christine Brooke-Rose's work is characterized by a sense of surrealism and fantasy, as she explores the relationship between the individual and the world. Her novels include The Time of the Angels (1968), The Time of the Angels (1970), and The Time of the Angels (1971), which are known for their experimental use of language and imagery.

Eva Figes's work is characterized by a feminist critique of the Victorian era and the role of women in society. Her novels include The Time of the Angels (1968), The Time of the Angels (1970), and The Time of the Angels (1971), which are known for their experimental use of language and imagery.

Ann Quin's work is characterized by a sense of psychological realism and a focus on the inner life of the individual. Her novels include The Time of the Angels (1968), The Time of the Angels (1970), and The Time of the Angels (1971), which are known for their experimental use of language and imagery.

In conclusion, British women's experimental writing in post-war Britain has been a rich and diverse genre that has contributed significantly to the development of twentieth-century literature. This book provides a detailed historical overview of the genre, combined with close critical readings and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources. It offers detailed biographical information on each writer based on original archival research carried out in the British Library and at the Harry Ransom Centre at the University of Texas, and demonstrates how they wrote against aesthetic and thematic conventions of their times and negotiated (and often repudiated) concepts of feminine writing.

Weight: 588g
Dimension: 162 x 241 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474426176