The Beast, Big Brother & Beyond

In Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell envisages a future in which the State has become all-powerful, the English language is being dismantled and even sex is outlawed, while William Golding’s Lord of the Flies depicts a civilisation corrupted by the darkness of the human heart. What gave rise to these haunting fables and how has British fiction developed in their aftermath?

The course introduces the student to a rich cross-section of post-war writing, from Orwell and Golding, through Jean Rhys and Angela Carter to those writers in the vanguard of present day British fiction. Salman Rushdie’s work provides a focus for consideration of the complex interrelation between fiction and reality, while the novels of Julian Barnes and Jeanette Winterson raise pertinent questions about the value and character of historical inquiry and storytelling which have special relevance to the literature of the entire period.

The course includes a study trip to the Cheltenham Festival of Literature, where contemporary British authors give talks on their work. (Speakers in recent years have included Phillip Pullman, Kate Adie, Alain de Botton, Terry Eagleton and Marina Warner.)

Subject areas: English
Check with your home institution for specific information on fulfilment of major/course requirements.