The blokes were writers who revitalized British drama, fiction, poetry, and criticism. When Britain was in the economic doldrums, when its supply of great authors was dwindling after World War II, they rebuilt a world-class reputation. Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s, Britain had a great transformation. The blokes were writers who revitalized British drama, fiction, poetry, and criticism. When Britain was in the economic doldrums, when its supply of great authors was dwindling after World War II, they rebuilt a world-class reputation. Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s, Britain had a great transformation. This book is the story, told in a series of profiles (made out of facts, creative scenes, opinion), of New Britannia. The cast of characters includes playwrights John Osborne and Arnold Wesker, novelist Kingsley Amis, critic Kenneth Tynan, poet Philip Larkin, fiction writer Alan Sillitoe, plus lesser-known figures such as John Braine, David Storey, Stan Barstow, Keith Waterhouse, and Shelagh Delaney. The central idea of this book is how these writers, and others, transformed British heritage - how they worked with the materials of their own backgrounds, the class system, tradition, and artistic convention to make new art. They took their place in a long line of writers who thrived in grit: Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Bernard Shaw, and D. H. Lawrence.

Author Biography

David Castronovo is the author of Edmund Wilson (a New York Times Notable Book), Beyond the Gray Flannel Suit: Books from the 1950s that Made American Culture, Critic in Love: A Romantic Biography of Edmund Wilson (with Janet Groth), The English Gentleman, and other important works on literary subjects. He is C. Richard Pace Professor at Pace University, NY, and lives in New York City.