Modern Bestiary - Animals in English Fiction 1880-1945

Taking Darwin's publication of Origin of Species as a significant point of departure, it discusses such key authors as Hardy, Lawrence, Kipling, Wells, Orwell, and others, arguing that the variety and richness of this literature represents a revival in the fortunes of Bestiary literature. In the Middle Ages, much animal literature was written and its burden was instruction of a moral kind. This study shows that modern British writers have turned to the world of animal nature, realistically, figuratively or fantastically, to find an alternative orientation to the world -- to find a more satisfactory view of man's place in nature. The modern Bestiarists represent a wide variety of fictional technique and an equally extensive range of thematic interest.