York Notes Companions: Postwar Literature

Post-war Literature, 19501990

The York Notes Companion to Post-War Literature examines the literary developments of the latter 20th century, a period characterised by a tension between conservatism and innovation. Introducing key works and genres including the postmodern novels of Julian Barnes and Angela Carter, the modern lyrics of Philip Larkin and Sylvia Plath, and the inventive dramas of Samuel Beckett, Caryl Churchill and Tom Stoppard, the Companion offers detailed commentaries on texts and guides students through key literary theories and debates. Connecting texts with their historical and scholarly contexts, this is essential reading for any student of post-war literature. 

Each York Notes Companion provides:

• Analysis  of key texts and debates  
• Extended  commentaries for further in-depth analysis of individual texts  
• Exploration  of historical, social and cultural contexts
• Annotations clarifying literary terms and events in history
• Modern  theoretical perspectives in practice  
• Timelines  and annotated further reading

William May is a Research Fellow in Humanities at the University of Southampton.