Social Discontinuity in the Novels of Elizabeth Bowen the Conservative Quest

“it is a sensitive and carefully written work which clearly establishes. . . Bowen’s concern with the effect on human relationships and the individual psyche of social discontinuity . . . Coates’s arguments convince because they are fully substantiated by careful textual analysis . . . I am very happy to recommend it as a perceptive delineation of the essential Elizabeth Bowen.” – Professor Tom McAlindon, Department of English, University of Hull

“The great value of Coates’s critical analysis is his very careful attention to the details of her narratives especially in relation to theme. He is very gifted in appreciating the art of her work.” – Professor Joseph Schwartz, Department of English, Marquette University

Table of contents:
1. Elizabeth Bowen’s The Last September: The Loss of the Past and the Modern Consciousness
2. The Tree of Jesse and the Voyage Out: Stability and Disorder in Elizabeth Bowen’s Friends and Relations
3. The Hearth and the Theatre: Moral Choice in To the North
4. Emotional Need and Cultural Codes in The House in Paris
5. In Praise of Civility: Conservative Values and Dilemmas in The Death of the Heart
6. The Rewards and Problems of Rootedness in The Heat of the Day
7. The Recovery of the Past in A World of Love
8. False History and True in The Little Girls
Conclusion: Some recent developments in Bowen Criticism
Bibliography, Index

>> See all our Literature - English books