Post-War British Literature and the "End of Empire", 1st ed. 2016

This book examines literary texts by British colonial servant and settler writers, including Anthony Burgess, Graham Greene, William Golding, and Alan Sillitoe, who depicted the impact of decolonization in the newly independent colonies and at home in Britain. The end of the British Empire was one of the most significant and transformative events in twentieth-century history, marking the beginning of a new world order and having an indelible impact on British culture and society. Literary responses to this moment by those from within Britain offer an enlightening (and often overlooked) exploration of the influence of decolonization on received notions of ?race? and class, while also prefiguring conceptions of multiculturalism. As Matthew Whittle argues in this sweeping study, these works not only view decolonization within its global context (alongside the aftermath of the Second World War, the rise of America, and mass immigration) but often propose a solution to imperial decline through cultural renewal.

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

1    Introduction

Part I: The British Abroad

2          Decolonisation and the Second World War

3          America Moves In: Neo-colonialism and America’s ‘Entertainment Empire’

Part II: Returning Home

4          Englishness in Transition: Moving from the Imperial to the National

5          Post-War Immigration and Multicultural Britain

6    Coda: Satire and Celebration: Representing Empire in Post-War British Culture

Notes

Bibliography

Matthew Whittle is a Teaching Fellow in Contemporary and Postcolonial Literature at the University of Leeds, UK. He has published journal articles and book chapters on post-war British and Caribbean literature, decolonization, postcolonial studies, and contemporary art.

Covers an impressive range of literary texts by post-war British writers including Anthony Burgess, Graham Greene, and William Golding

Foregrounds his discussion of literature within the larger context of British imperial history particularly as connected to race and class

Peels back the layers on the complicated but long-lasting legacies of post-war British writers.