By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The twentieth century gave us literary modernism, postmodernism, magical realism, dystopian fiction, and new perspectives on race, empire, gender, and politics. Below, we introduce ten classic twentieth-century novels which anyone aiming to be well-read in twentieth-century fiction should aim to read.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Literary criticism (or even ‘literary theory’) goes back as far as ancient Greece, and Aristotle’s Poetics. But the rise of English Literature as a university subject, at the beginning of the twentieth century, led to literary criticism focusing on English literature – everything from Shakespeare to contemporary literature – being taken seriously.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The 1920s was the Jazz Age in America, and the age of modernism in Britain. It was the era of flappers, cocktail parties, and experimenting with the novel; but for others, who couldn’t afford the luxury of gin fizzes in luxury mansions or a room of their own to move the novel in new directions, it was an era marked by poverty and class divisions. Below, we introduce some of the finest novels from, and about, the 1920s.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
There are plenty of books out there telling the story of English literature: its history and development. But what about those guidebooks which take a geographical approach to literary Britain, and offer suggestions for places to visit around the UK based on their literary associations? Here are five of our favourite literary guides to travelling around Britain.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Stoic philosophy has been around for several centuries now, but the principles of Stoicism are not as widely known as the word itself. We tend to use the words ‘stoic’ and ‘stoicism’ to refer to a sort of ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude to life – the sort of thing that Rudyard Kipling recommended in his classic poem, ‘If’. Below, we’ve picked five of the best ancient works on Stoicism and related philosophical ideas. Modern titles are, of course, available – but these might be considered the founding texts of the Stoic worldview.