Political Fiction and the Historical Imagination [Paperback]

This study gives insights into the process of imagining history and argues the case for a humanistic approach. It shows how writers have brought alive in their work an individual struggle to comprehend some of the most important political phenomena to the 2Oth century.Part 1 The end of clear thinking and the triumph of irrationalism - British fiction, 1910-1940: Collingwood and Waugh - the philosopher's detective and Boot of the Beast ; irony as historical realism - Under Western Eyes ; jumping overboard - Lawrence, Kangaroo , and the retreat from history. Part 2 All the king's and president's men - political intellectuals in post-war America: tragic knowledge and The Earned Redemption - the history lesson of All the King's Men ; Watergate and after - the good, the bad and the Good as Gold .