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Published right on the cusp of
the 2010s, Katharine Cockin and Jago Morrison’s book, The
Post-War British Literature Handbook
ushered in the new decade, with a timely and astute assessment of the
popularity and relevance of contemporary British literature to the
curriculum. This book should be of considerable interest to
academics, scholars, research and undergraduate students working in
this field. Post-war British literature is a vibrant area of
scholarship and research, and recent years have seen the publication
of a range of books, either on individual authors, topics/issues, or
subgroupings, such as black British writing and women’s writing.
The editors of The
Post-War British Literature Handbook
are respected scholars within their respective fields; Cockin is a
women’s writing specialist whose expertise spans across the 19th
and 20th
century, and Morrison’s is in contemporary British and postcolonial
writing. Their engagement and experience is evident in the thoughtful
structure and contributions, both their own and those by other
academics featured in this book.
The word ‘handbook’ did
trigger a mixed response in me, I must admit. Ensuring that the book
is not perceived as speaking only to a select ‘niche’ market, the
title attempts to tick all the marketing boxes, in targeting a
teaching and learning readership. Yet the reader should not be
deceived by the rather modest-sounding word ‘handbook’. The lack
of a showier, flashier title should not detract from its scholarly
approach as it provides both survey-like features and in-depth
sections of arguably the major developments within Second World War
British literature. Pragmatic yet elegant and questioning, Cockin and
Morrison’s The
Post-War British Literature Handbook
offers a series of well-researched and wide-ranging chapters of
historical and cultural contextualisation, as well as sections on
specific issues or trends within contemporary British literature.
An admirable aspect of Cockin
and Morrison’s The
Post-War British Literature Handbook
is its determination to foreground critical theory, and its
centrality to literature research, teaching and learning. Critical
theory is embedded in this book’s very structure and approach in an
organic way that reinforces the relationship between theory and
literature. From having been an area of division and contention, even
strife, Cockin and Morrison’s book showcases the riches in, and the
possibilities of, literary and critical theory, and their continued
relevance to literary engagement. The individual chapters are written
in a clear, accessible language mindful of complexities yet avoiding
needless use of jargon. On the whole, The
Post-War British Literature Handbook
succeeds in presenting this material in an organic attractive
reader-friendly manner that appeals to both professionals and
students. The Introduction sets this up well, with its
problematisation of all things ‘post’.
The Post-War British
Literature Handbook
contains four main sections: the opening section, ‘contexts’,
provides a helpful outline of significant literary movements within
post-war British literature. ‘Contexts’ describes the social,
cultural, and political background to literary developments, and
offers summary overviews of literary groupings and institutions etc
specific to British culture, from the BBC, Open University, through
to censorship, cyberpunk, and regional novel. The ext section, on
‘case studies’, gives illustrative readings of selected literary
and critical texts, such as Andrea Levy’s Small
Island (2004) and
Andrzej Gasiorek, Post-War
British Fiction: Realism and After
(1995). Both the literary and theoretical parts are framed by short
introductions by Michael Greaney. This section is clearly signposted
as providing supporting material for teaching and learning, one of
the facets which give this book its edge over others with a perhaps
more abstract and therefore less user-friendly approach. The third
Section, on ‘critical approaches’, offers overviews of ‘key
critics, concepts and topics’. Written by selected UK scholars
within the field of contemporary literature, this section attempts to
provide breadth of coverage in relative bite-size format; a
user-friendly strategy which, however, does at times sit uneasily
with the complexity of the theoretical positions and the literary and
critical texts under consideration. Invariably, perhaps, overviews of
critical positions and debates may leave the advanced scholar
wanting; for undergraduate students, however, finding themselves
struggling to navigate the critical morass in a jungle of theory,
this section is particularly helpful. I particularly enjoyed the
book’s final section, ‘Mapping the field’, as it explores two
areas close to my own interest, namely women’s writing and issues
of gender and sexuality in literature; and postcolonial and black
British perspectives, and the topics are intelligently evaluated by
respected scholars.
Inevitably, of course, when a
text aims for inclusivity and coverage of authors and names, there
will be omissions. Disappointingly, there is no mention of for
example David Mitchell whose novel,
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet,
has won him such recognition, but who already has an impressive body
of work behind him, or the slightly lesser known but equally
interesting Matthew Kneale. Furthermore, although these areas are
discussed, there is no sustained engagement in the book with the
impact of popular genre writing, such as crime fiction or travel
writing. Furthermore, it could be argued that such genre-based
writings are catered for by more specialist publications elsewhere –
as is children’s literature which is treated with similar brevity,
although J.K. Rowling’s work is emphasised. Recent Asian-British
writings are explored, as is the influence on the contemporary
literary scene of recent migrant writers from Europe, particularly
Eastern Europe. Understandably, however, the editors have had to
compromise depth and complexity of treatment, in order to achieve
coverage. And of course the benefits of these ‘tasters’, or
overviews, are that interested readers are at liberty to explore and
do further research in specialist publications and sources, on the
basis of the information and knowledge they have acquired.
I have to admit to not having
perused the Appendix with its accompanying teaching plans – this is
available only as a separate purchase, a fact which one could gripe
about. That aside, however, based on what I have read, I have no
doubt as to the merit and quality of this additional material. It is
indicative of the book’s determination to position itself as a
teaching and learning tool that it should signal its suitability for
teaching uses in this way. Cockin and Morrison’s The
Post-War British Literature Handbook
provides an excellent read for advanced level undergraduate students
engaging in research activity, and is a useful source for literature
lecturers looking for contextualizing material about post-war Britain
and its complex, exciting literary riches.
CHARLOTTE BEYER
University
of Gloucestershire
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