Modernist Fiction: An Introduction

by Randall Stevenson

In the revised edition of this popular text, Randall Stevenson has expanded, re-emphasised and amended his work to make it even more relevant to today's student studying the Modernist period in literature. The book covers a wide range of modernist novelists and novels, and also provides an invaluable guide to key developments in the genre. Stevenson has developed his text by adding a discussion of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which is now taught more regularly than Lord Jim. In addition he takes a fresh look at the politics of the Modernists, in conjunction with the politics of their texts, pointing out the drawbacks of politically-progressive readings of many modernist novels. Finally, in the section on gender, Stevenson includes discussions of such significant figures as Djuna Barnes, HD, Katherine Mansfield and Rebecca West, as well as expanding the reference to Gertrude Stein throughout. The revisions in this updated text serve to make the authors' arguments sharper and allow the text to remain central to the discussion of modernism, modernity and the novel.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Randall Stevenson is Emeritus Professor of Twentieth-Century Literature in the University of Edinburgh. Recent books include Literature and the Great War: 1914 - 1918 (Oxford University Press, 2013) and Reading the Times: Temporality and History in Twentieth-Century Fiction (Edinburgh University Press, 2018).

Stevenson was born in the north of Scotland, grew up in Glasgow, and studied at the University of Edinburgh (Astrophysics, then English Literature) and the University of Oxford. He covered Scottish drama for The Independent in the 1990s, and has reviewed for BBC Radio Scotland and The Times Literary Supplement. He has been a member of the Traverse Script Panel and of the Board of Directors and Artistic Policy Committee of the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to some of the giants of British modernism. Stevenson focuses on the big three, Lawrence, Woolf and Joyce; but also spends a lot of time on the big two precursors, James and Conrad. There's not much here on the yanks, although Hemingway gets the occasional look in, as does Faulkner. There's also a lot on Proust. Basically, this book is a boiled down version of Genette's 'Narrative Discourse;' Jameson's 'Political Unconscious;' and Bakhtin, with some of James's and Woolf's essays thrown in for good measure. That's good stuff. I think there's a new edition with an extra chapter on books written by, y'know, people who aren't pasty white. Probably worth tracking down.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book does a great job of explaining literary modernism, especially in terms of the way modernist authors experimented with time.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy was this a long read for me..It took me forever to get through, but I'm very glad that I managed it, I feel it gave me great insight into modernist fiction.

There's plenty that I struggled to understand, and I've no doubt that I will return to this book at a later date..I'm very happy to have finally finished it, I can now move on to other things.
One of the essays that I'll have to soon begin writing (on 'Homo Faber') will force me to deal with the issue of modernism in literature, so I'm hoping this book has given me a headstart on that.

I found the chapters on 'Time' & 'Values' most interesting, 'Space' and 'Art' were a little more taxing to me.
Still a wonderful, useful read.