How the Second World War is Depicted by British Novelists Since 1990

“With the stories of common, everyday lives, with heroines and debased heroes without significant bias or without depriving the reader of a good dose of ethical values. … This a very welcome book for those who like English fiction: it will certainly move you to read.” – Prof. Santiago Corugedo, University of Oviedo

“… [the author] reveals the incredibly varied treatment of national and group identities, and individual psychologies, demonstrating a mastery both of historical situations and literary modes employed by various novelists. This is challenging and thought-provoking study which will change one’s thinking about war and the way it is fictionalised.” – Prof. Martin Hugh Fitzpatrick, Aberystwyth University

“The study demonstrates that not only do the authors contrast the everyday concerns of individuals with major events [and] they question the social, economic and political systems that shape their world.” – Prof. Jane Mattisson, Kristianstad University

Foreword by Professor Santiago Corugedo

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction

Part I. Myths: Debunked and Preserved

1. Sarah Waters, The Night Watch (2006)
2. Ian McEwan, Atonement (2001)
3. William Boyd, Restless (2006)
4. Sebastian Faulks, Charlotte Gray (1998)
5. Robert Harris, Engima (1995)

Part II. Revisiting History

6. Tim Binding, Island Madness (1994)
7. Owen Sheers, Resistance (2007)
8. Peter Ho Davies, The Welsh Girl (2007)
9. A.L. Kennedy, Day (2007)
10. A. McCall Smith, La’s Orchestra Saves the World (2008)

Part III. Individuals and Nations

11. Helen Dunmore, The Siege (2001)
12. Rachel Seiffert, The Dark Room (2001)
13. Martin Amis, Time’s Arrow (1991)
14. Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (1994)
15. Mark Mills, The Information Officer (2009)
16. Kazuo Ishiguro, When We Were Orphans (2000)

Conclusion: Elusive Past, Inescapable History
Notes

Bibliography

Index