Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- A cultural overview -- Texts, writers, and contexts. The moral novel: William Golding, Iris Murdoch and Muriel Spark; Extended commentary: Iris Murdoch, The black prince (1973); The postmodern novel: Julian Barnes, Angela Carter and Graham Swift; Extended commentary: Angela Carter, Nights at the circus (1984); The modern lyric: Philip Larkin, Sylvia Plath and Stevie Smith; Extended commentary: Stevie Smith, Thoughts about the person from Porlock (1962); The bardic line: Tony Harrison, Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes; Extended commentary: Tony Harrison, V. (1985); Social dramas: Edward Bond, John Osborne and Caryl Churchill; Extended commentary: Caryl Churchill, Cloud nine (1979); New stages:Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard; Extended commentary: Harold Pinter, The room -- Critical theories and debates. Nostalgia and national identity; Immigrants and exiles; Class and education; Sex and identity -- References and resources -- Timeline -- Further reading.