The British Working Class in the Twentieth Century: Film, Literature and Television

(Hardback)

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Twentieth-Century Writing and the British Working Class examines representations of the British working class in twentieth century literature and film. John Kirk re-asserts the importance of class as a category of critical analysis through a wide-ranging discussion of the changing nature, status and ideological concerns of working-class writing over the course of the last century. A further objective is to explore the complex articulations of class in relation to issues of gender and race. After an introduction to the theoretical issues at stake, the book begins with a broad historical overview of representations of class in the work of writers such as Lewis Jones, Walter Brierly, Colin MacInnes and John Braine. It then deals with more recent work, from Alan Bleasdale, James Kelman and Pat Barker, to contemporary cinema (Brassed Off, The Full Monty), and black/Asian writing in Britain.

Reviews

'The University of Wales Press is to be complimented on publishing a work from which provides so many insights for the field of Welsh cultural studies.' www .gwales.com

Author Bio

John Kirk is Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds, Bretton Campus. He has published widely on working-class writing and culture in journals such as Literature and History, Contemporary Literature, Journal of Narrative Theory, Textual Practice and Race and Class.