Espionage in British Fiction and Film since 1900

Espionage in British Fiction and Film since 1900 PDF Author: Oliver Buckton
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498504841
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
Espionage in British Fiction and Film Since 1900 traces the history and development of the British spy novel from its emergence in the early twentieth century, through its growth as a popular genre during the Cold War, to its resurgence in the early twenty-first century. Using an innovative structure, the chapters focus on specific categories of fictional spying (such as the accidental spy or the professional) and identify each type with a vital period in the evolution of the spy novel and film. A central section of the book considers how, with the creation of James Bond by Ian Fleming in the 1950s, the professional spy was launched on a new career of global popularity, enhanced by the Bond film franchise. In the realm of fiction, a glance at the fiction bestseller list will reveal the continuing appeal of novelists such as John le Carré, Frederick Forsyth, Charles Cumming, Stella Rimington, Daniel Silva, Alec Berenson, Christopher Reich—to name but a few—and illustrates the continued fascination with the spy novel into the twenty-first century, decades after the end of the Cold War. There is also a burgeoning critical interest in spy fiction, with a number of new studies appearing in recent years. A genre that many believed would falter and disappear after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet empire has shown, if anything, increased signs of vitality. While exploring the origins of the British spy, tracing it through cultural and historical events, Espionage in British Fiction and Film Since 1900 also keeps in focus the essential role of the “changing enemy”—the chief adversary of and threat to Britain and its allies—in the evolution of spy fiction and cinema. The book concludes by analyzing examples of the enduring vitality of the British spy novel and film in the decades since the end of the Cold War.

Espionage in British Fiction and Film since 1900

Espionage in British Fiction and Film since 1900 PDF Author: Oliver Buckton
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498504841
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
Espionage in British Fiction and Film Since 1900 traces the history and development of the British spy novel from its emergence in the early twentieth century, through its growth as a popular genre during the Cold War, to its resurgence in the early twenty-first century. Using an innovative structure, the chapters focus on specific categories of fictional spying (such as the accidental spy or the professional) and identify each type with a vital period in the evolution of the spy novel and film. A central section of the book considers how, with the creation of James Bond by Ian Fleming in the 1950s, the professional spy was launched on a new career of global popularity, enhanced by the Bond film franchise. In the realm of fiction, a glance at the fiction bestseller list will reveal the continuing appeal of novelists such as John le Carré, Frederick Forsyth, Charles Cumming, Stella Rimington, Daniel Silva, Alec Berenson, Christopher Reich—to name but a few—and illustrates the continued fascination with the spy novel into the twenty-first century, decades after the end of the Cold War. There is also a burgeoning critical interest in spy fiction, with a number of new studies appearing in recent years. A genre that many believed would falter and disappear after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet empire has shown, if anything, increased signs of vitality. While exploring the origins of the British spy, tracing it through cultural and historical events, Espionage in British Fiction and Film Since 1900 also keeps in focus the essential role of the “changing enemy”—the chief adversary of and threat to Britain and its allies—in the evolution of spy fiction and cinema. The book concludes by analyzing examples of the enduring vitality of the British spy novel and film in the decades since the end of the Cold War.

War, Espionage, and Masculinity in British Fiction

War, Espionage, and Masculinity in British Fiction PDF Author: Susan L. Austin
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1648896316
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
'War, Espionage, and Masculinity in British Fiction' explores the masculinities represented in British works spanning more than a century. Studies of Rudyard Kipling’s 'The Light That Failed' (1891) and Erskine Childer’s 'The Riddle of the Sands' (1903) investigate masculinities from before World War I, at the height of the British Empire. A discussion of R.C. Sherriff’s play 'Journey’s End' takes readers to the battlefields of World War I, where duty and the harsh realities of modern warfare require men to perform, perhaps to die, perhaps to be unmanned by shellshock. From there we see how Dorothy Sayers developed the character of Peter Wimsey as a model of masculinity, both strong and successful despite his own shellshock in the years between the world wars. Graham Greene’s The Heart of the Matter (1948) and The Quiet American (1955) show masculinities shaken and questioning their roles and their country’s after neither world war ended all wars and the Empire rapidly lost ground. Two chapters on 'The Innocent' (1990), Ian McEwan’s fictional account of a real collaboration between Great Britain and the United States to build a tunnel that would allow them to spy on the Soviet Union, dig deeply into the 1950’s Cold War to examine the fictional masculinity of the British protagonist and the real world and fictional masculinities projected by the countries involved. Explorations of Ian Fleming’s 'Casino Royale' (1953) and 'The Living Daylights' (1962) continue the Cold War theme. Discussion of the latter film shows a confident, infallible masculinity, optimistic at the prospect of glasnost and the potential end of Cold War hostilities. John le Carré’s 'The Night Manager' (1993) and its television adaptation take espionage past the Cold War. The final chapter on Ian McEwan’s 'Saturday' (2005) shows one man’s reaction to 9/11.

Looking-Glass Wars: Spies on British Screens since 1960

Looking-Glass Wars: Spies on British Screens since 1960 PDF Author: Alan Burton
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1622732901
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 555

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Book Description
Looking-Glass Wars: Spies on British Screens since 1960 is a detailed historical and critical overview of espionage in British film and television in the important period since 1960. From that date, the British spy screen was transformed under the influence of the tremendous success of James Bond in the cinema (the spy thriller), and of the new-style spy writing of John le Carré and Len Deighton (the espionage story). In the 1960s, there developed a popular cycle of spy thrillers in the cinema and on television. The new study looks in detail at the cycle which in previous work has been largely neglected in favour of the James Bond films. The study also brings new attention to espionage on British television and popular secret agent series such as Spy Trap, Quiller and The Sandbaggers. It also gives attention to the more ‘realistic’ representation of spying in the film and television adaptations of le Carré and Deighton, and other dramas with a more serious intent. In addition, there is wholly original attention given to ‘nostalgic’ spy fictions on screen, adaptations of classic stories of espionage which were popular in the late 1970s and through the 1980s, and to ‘historical’ spy fiction, dramas which treated ‘real’ cases of espionage and their characters, most notably the notorious Cambridge Spies. Detailed attention is also given to the ‘secret state’ thriller, a cycle of paranoid screen dramas in the 1980s which portrayed the intelligence services in a conspiratorial light, best understood as a reaction to excessive official secrecy and anxieties about an unregulated security service. The study is brought up-to-date with an examination of screen espionage in Britain since the end of the Cold War. The approach is empirical and historical. The study examines the production and reception, literary and historical contexts of the films and dramas. It is the first detailed overview of the British spy screen in its crucial period since the 1960s and provides fresh attention to spy films, series and serials never previously considered.

Historical Dictionary of British Spy Fiction

Historical Dictionary of British Spy Fiction PDF Author: Alan Burton
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442255870
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
The Historical Dictionary of British Spy Fiction is a detailed overview of the rich history and achievements of the British espionage story in literature, cinema and television. It provides detailed yet accessible information on numerous individual authors, novels, films, filmmakers, television dramas and significant themes within the broader field of the British spy story. It contains a wealth of facts, insights and perspectives, and represents the best single source for the study and appreciation of British spy fiction. British spy fiction is widely regarded as the most significant and accomplished in the world and this book is the first attempt to bring together an informed survey of the achievements in the British spy story in literature, cinema and television. The Historical Dictionary of British Spy Fiction contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 200 cross-referenced entries on individual authors, stories, films, filmmakers, television shows and the various sub-genres of the British spy story. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about British spy fiction.

Sexuality and Gender in Fictions of Espionage

Sexuality and Gender in Fictions of Espionage PDF Author: Ann Rea
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350271373
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
An exploration of how espionage narratives give access to cultural conceptions of gender and sexuality before and following the Second World War, this book moves away from masculinist assumptions of the genre to offer an integrative survey of the sexualities on display from important characters across spy fiction. Topics covered include how authors mocked the traditional spy genre; James Bond as a symbol of pervasive British Superiority still anxious about masculinity; how older female spies act as queer figures that disturb the masculine mythology of the secret agent; and how the clandestine lives of agents described ways to encode queer communities under threat from fascism. Covering texts such as the Bond novels, John Le Carré's oeuvre (and their notable adaptations) and works by Helen MacInnes, Christopher Isherwood and Mick Herron, Sexuality and Gender in Fictions of Espionage takes stock of spy fiction written by women, female protagonists written by men, and probes the representations of masculinity generated by male authors. Offering a counterpoint to a genre traditionally viewed as male-centric, Sexuality and Gender in Fictions of Espionage proposes a revision of masculinity, femininity, queer identities and gendered concepts such as domesticity, and relates them to notions of nationality and the defence work conducted at crucial moments in history.

Heroes in Contemporary British Culture

Heroes in Contemporary British Culture PDF Author: Barbara Korte
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000382699
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
This book explores how British culture is negotiating heroes and heroisms in the twenty-first century. It posits a nexus between the heroic and the state of the nation and explores this idea through British television drama. Drawing on case studies including programmes such as The Last Kingdom, Spooks, Luther and Merlin, the book explores the aesthetic strategies of heroisation in television drama and contextualises the programmes within British public discourses at the time of their production, original broadcasting and first reception. British television drama is a cultural forum in which contemporary Britain’s problems, wishes and cultural values are revealed and debated. By revealing the tensions in contemporary notions of heroes and heroisms, television drama employs the heroic as a lens through which to scrutinise contemporary British society and its responses to crisis and change. Looking back on the development of heroic representations in British television drama over the last twenty years, this book’s analyses show how heroisation in television drama reacts to, and reveals shifts in, British structures of feeling in a time marked by insecurity. The book is ideal for readers interested in British cultural studies, studies of the heroic and popular culture. Introduction of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution (CC-BY-)] 4.0 license.

Counterfeit Spies

Counterfeit Spies PDF Author: Oliver Buckton
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538183692
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
A "savvy study" (Publishers Weekly) and a fascinating exploration of the roles many spy novelists played during World War II and the influence of intelligence work on their writing. World War II deception operations created elaborate fictions and subterfuges to prevent the enemy from apprehending the true targets and objectives of Allied forces. These operations shortened the war considerably and saved countless lives—and they were often invented, proposed, and sometimes executed by creative minds that would come to be known worldwide for their spy novels. In Counterfeit Spies: How World War II Intelligence Operations Shaped Cold War Spy Fiction, Oliver Buckton reveals the involvement of writers in wartime deceptions and shows how those operations would later impact their work. He also examines how the details, personnel, and methods of the GARBO network, Operation Mincemeat, Philby’s treason, Operation Bodyguard, and more were translated from real life into spy fiction by these authors, necessitated by the Official Secrets Act which prevented writers from revealing their experiences in memoirs or other nonfiction works. Featuring Ian Fleming, Dennis Wheatley, Graham Greene, Helen MacInnes, John Bingham, and John le Carré, Counterfeit Spies is a captivating examination of the brilliant novelists who took wartime espionage and deception to another level with their enduring works that continue to entertain and fascinate readers today.

Threatened Masculinity from British Fiction to Cold War German Cinema

Threatened Masculinity from British Fiction to Cold War German Cinema PDF Author: Joseph Willis
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000011976
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
The impact of the Cold War on German male identities can be seen in the nation’s cinematic search for a masculine paradigm that rejected the fate-centered value system of its National- Socialist past while also recognizing that German males once again had become victims of fate and fatalism, but now within the value system of the Soviet and American hegemonies that determined the fate of Cold War Germany and Central Europe. This monograph is the first to demonstrate that this Cold War cinematic search sought out a meaningful masculine paradigm through film adaptations of late-Victorian and Edwardian male writers who likewise sought a means of self-determination within a hegemonic structure that often left few opportunities for personal agency. In contrast to the scholarly practice of exploring categories of modern masculinity such as Victorian imperialist manliness or German Cold-War male identity as distinct from each other, this monograph offers an important, comparative corrective that brings forward an extremely influential century-long trajectory of threatened masculinity. For German Cold-War masculinity, lessons were to be learned from history—namely, from late-Victorian and Edwardian models of manliness. Cold War Germans, like the Victorians before them, had to confront the unknowns of a new world without fear or hesitation. In a Cold-War mentality where nuclear technology and geographic distance had trumped face-to-face confrontation between East and West, Cold-War German masculinity sought alternatives to the insanity of mutual nuclear destruction by choosing not just to confront threats, but to resolve threats directly through personal agency and self-determination.

Politics and the British Novel in the 1970s

Politics and the British Novel in the 1970s PDF Author: J. Russell Perkin
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0228007631
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The 1970s in Britain saw a series of industrial disputes, a referendum on membership in the European Economic Community, conflict about issues of immigration and citizenship, and emergent environmental and feminist movements. It was also a decade of innovation in the novel, and novelists often addressed the state of the nation directly in their works. In Politics and the British Novel in the 1970s Russell Perkin looks at social novels by John Fowles and Margaret Drabble, the Cold War thrillers of John le Carré, Richard Adams's best-selling fable Watership Down, the popular campus novels of Malcolm Bradbury and David Lodge, Doris Lessing's dystopian visions, and V.S. Naipaul's explorations of post-colonial displacement. Many of these highly regarded works sold in large numbers and have enjoyed enduring success – a testament to the power of the political novel to explain a nation to itself. Perkin explores the connections between the novel and politics, situating the works it discusses in the rich context of the history and culture of the decade, from party politics to popular television shows. Politics and the British Novel in the 1970s elucidates a period of literary history now fifty years in the past and offers a balanced perspective on the age, revealing that these works not only represented the politics of the time but played a meaningful role in them.

Suffering in Anglophone Literatures

Suffering in Anglophone Literatures PDF Author: Martina Domines
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666944130
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Suffering in Anglophone Literatures engages with postclassical Trauma Studies and opens the traumatic envelope to embrace concepts such as toleration, mourning, nostalgia, vulnerability and existential Angst. The first section explores insomnia in Shakespeare, testimonial suffering in Richardson, nostalgia in Clare, work as a form of suffering in Tennyson and pleasurable suffering in Trollope. The second section deals with suffering as expressed in blues (by August Wilson), intergenerational healing (by Rosanna Deerchild), systemic pain in war fiction (from World War One to the Vietnam War), personal and historical nostalgia (by John Banville) and literary non-commitment to suffering (by Joyce, and Philip Kerr). The final section turns to more recent literary texts ranging from the poetry of Derek Mahon, Philip Metres and Solmaz Sharif to novels on intergenerational trauma (by Kate Morton), the sexual abuse of women (by Miriam Toews) and growing up in poverty (by Douglas Stuart).