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The angry decade: A survey of the cultural revolt of the nineteen-fifties
A survey of the cultural revolt of the nineteen fifties.
Towards the end of the l950's new dissentient voices in Britain caught the attention of the world. 'Angry Young Men' was the name irrevocably attached to that emerging generation of novelists, philosophers and playwrights who rebelled against the political apathy and cynicism of our post-war society - but who were also expressions of it.
Headed by Kingsley Amis, Colin Wilson and John Osborne, the 'movement' grew rapidly bigger and stronger. Who were they, and what were they angry about? Were they, in fact, angry? Was the praise, and in some cases notoriety, that gathered round them entirely deserved?
The Angry Decade, a controversial book when it was first published, provides a full and frank appraisal of the worth of the young men who so violently gatecrashed the old literary Establishment, and Kenneth Allsop compares them with their counterparts in the 'Twenties, 'Thirties and 'Forties. He analyses their personal backgrounds, which he relates to the transitional aftermath of World War Two, and the social revolution in which the Angry Young Men grew up - the period of espresso bars and Samuel Beckett, inflation and skiffle, the rock 'n' roll craze and the Brecht revival, curious juxtapositions of a decaying economy. He examines the origins and development of these fresh ideas, the ferment from which may be growing our culture of the future.
The Angry Decade not only clarified the confusion that surrounded the new writers; it set a new standard in critical examination. Now reissued some XX years after it was first published, its style is still fresh, its analyses still relevant to an understanding of modern literature.
Towards the end of the l950's new dissentient voices in Britain caught the attention of the world. 'Angry Young Men' was the name irrevocably attached to that emerging generation of novelists, philosophers and playwrights who rebelled against the political apathy and cynicism of our post-war society - but who were also expressions of it.
Headed by Kingsley Amis, Colin Wilson and John Osborne, the 'movement' grew rapidly bigger and stronger. Who were they, and what were they angry about? Were they, in fact, angry? Was the praise, and in some cases notoriety, that gathered round them entirely deserved?
The Angry Decade, a controversial book when it was first published, provides a full and frank appraisal of the worth of the young men who so violently gatecrashed the old literary Establishment, and Kenneth Allsop compares them with their counterparts in the 'Twenties, 'Thirties and 'Forties. He analyses their personal backgrounds, which he relates to the transitional aftermath of World War Two, and the social revolution in which the Angry Young Men grew up - the period of espresso bars and Samuel Beckett, inflation and skiffle, the rock 'n' roll craze and the Brecht revival, curious juxtapositions of a decaying economy. He examines the origins and development of these fresh ideas, the ferment from which may be growing our culture of the future.
The Angry Decade not only clarified the confusion that surrounded the new writers; it set a new standard in critical examination. Now reissued some XX years after it was first published, its style is still fresh, its analyses still relevant to an understanding of modern literature.
212 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1958
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