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.
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.
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.- Index.
“Post-War British Literature and the ‘End of Empire’ makes a useful intervention in the study of English writing in the post-war period, shedding light on how empire was represented by some of its most critical servants at a time of intense change.” (John Brannigan, Modern Language Review, Vol. 114 (4), October, 2019)