The State of the Novel

George Orwell feared during World War II that the novel was in danger of disappearing as a form. But since 1945 Britain has witnessed the proliferation of diverse modes of fictional writings as well as a range of impressive reflections by practising novelists on the art of fiction. This anthology draws together a variety of novelists' essays and manifestos from the 1940s to the present. It includes some little-known pieces by writers sucha s Henry Green, C.P. Snow and Wilson Harris; but also contains better-known statements by writers such as Doris Lessing, Iris Murdoch and William Golding. Essays by Jeanette Winterson, Kazuo Ishiguro and Salman Rushdie are also included. This anthology not only reveals that the novel is alive and well in Britain, but also highlights its heterogeneity in the post-war period.