Reassessing the Twentieth-Century Canon ― From Joseph Conrad to Zadie Smith

The twentieth-century novel can now be considered to form a distinct and popular area of study. This edited collection brings together experts in the field of twentieth-century writing to provide a volume that is both comprehensive and innovative in its discussion of a set of newly canonical texts. From turn of the century texts such as Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899), through the work of acclaimed authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence, and right up to more contemporary examples including Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia (1990) and Zadie Smith's White Teeth (2000) this volume provides a lively yet informed re-evaluation of some of the twentieth-century's most significant and enduring literature. The emphasis in the collection is on a synthesis of original and established approaches to the texts, making the book particularly useful to newcomers to the field. The book employs a theoretically and philosophically informed approach but its style and language make it accessible to a wide audience.

David Simmons is Senior Lecturer in English and Media at the University of Northampton, UK. David has published extensively on twentieth century American literature and culture. His publications include: The Anti-Hero in the American Novel: From Joseph Heller to Kurt Vonnegut (2008) which was recommended by The Chronicle of Higher Education, (July 2008), and an edited collection New Critical Essays on Kurt Vonnegut (2009). He has also written on a wide range of subjects including the work of H.P. Lovecraft (in the academic journals Critical Engagements, Symbiosis and The Romanian Journal of American, British and Canadian Studies), and the fiction of Chuck Palahniuk in Reading Chuck Palahniuk, (2009).

Nicola Allen is lecturer in English at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Nicola has published a monograph, Marginality in the Contemporary British Novel (2008), and several chapters in edited collections and articles in the peer reviewed journal Critical Engagements.