Description

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Explores representations of men and masculinity in American fiction published after the Second World War
Offers readings of a wide selection of postwar American novels from 1945 to the mid-1950s, including canonical works, from the unique perspective of their representation of male identityProvides rich comparative insights through analysis of fiction by writers of diverse race, class and sexualityDemonstrates how gender theory generates insights into the constitution of American masculinity in fiction
Focusing on a complex and contentious period that was formative in shaping American society and culture in the twentieth century, this book sheds new light on the ways in which fiction engaged with contemporary notions of masculinity. It draws on gender theory and analysis of writers from diverse backgrounds of race, class and sexuality to provide rich comparative insights into the constitution of American masculinity in fiction. The extensive range of novels considered includes fresh analyses of key authors such as James Baldwin, Truman Capote, Patricia Highsmith, Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, Ann Petry, J. D. Salinger and Gore Vidal.

About the Author

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Clive Baldwin is Honorary Associate of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University and formerly Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Arts, The Open University. His publications include a review of Maggie McKinley, Masculinity and the Paradox of Violence in American Fiction, 1950-75 in Culture, Society & Masculinities, 8:1, 2016, 'Digressing from the point: Holden Caulfield's women' in Sarah Graham. J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (London: Routledge, 2007), and '"A certain ill-defined disgrace" masculinity and sexuality in Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach', English Review, 2011.