Reassessing the Twentieth-Century Canon

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.