The Abandoned Church and the Contemporary British Novel

Author: Hutchinson, Colin¹

Source: The Yearbook of English Studies, Volume 37, Number 1, 1 January 2007 , pp. 227-244(18)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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A supplement to the Modern Language Review, this journal includes articles and reviews on the language and literature of the English-speaking world. Most of the volumes published so far are 'Special Numbers', collections of between fifteen and eighteen commissioned articles on particular topics, such as the impact of the French Revolution on English writers; literature in the modern media; and colonial and imperial themes in literature.

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Abstract:

This article examines the use of the image of the abandoned church building in the contemporary British novel. It contends that novelists with a left-liberal political outlook employ the image of the abandoned church in order to represent, during the contemporary period, the situation of committed literature. The article proposes that such imagery in novels by Iain Sinclair, Julian Barnes, Alan Warner, and Anita Mason also signifies a reassessment of post-war individualism in favour of a `communitarian turn' (Hutchinson's term) that seeks to reorientate the sympathies of readers towards collective values and institutions.

Keywords: Abandoned church building; contemporary British novel; committed literature; Iain Sinclair; Julian Barnes; Alan Warner; Anita Mason; individualism; communitarian

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: University of Newcastle upon Tyne