Overview
- Sheds new light on representations of the English countryside from the 19th century to the present day, in relation to the question of identity (Englishness/Britishness)
- Offers a fresh and pluridisciplinary approach, borrowing from sociology, rural and cultural history, media and film studies, and literary and poetry analysis
- Based on a wide range of primary sources, including press, documentary films, television series, travelogues, paintings, photographs, music, novels, and poetry
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (11 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Rural Communities and Modernity: The English Countryside as an Invested Space
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Front Matter
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Praised Harmony and Revealing Dissonance: The English Countryside as a Resonant Space
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Front Matter
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Exploration and Meaning: The English Countryside as a Liminal Space
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This collection of essays examines representations of the English countryside and its mutations, and what they reveal about a nation’s, communities’ or individuals’ search for identity – and fear of losing it. Based on a pluridisciplinary approach and a variety of media, this book challenges the view that the English countryside is an apolitical space characterised by permanence and lack of conflict. It analyses how the pastoral motif is actually subverted to explore liminal spaces and temporalities. The authors deconstruct the “rural idyll” myth to show how it plays a distinctive and yet ambiguous part in defining Englishness/Britishness. A must read for both scholars and students interested in British rural and cultural history, media and literature.
Reviews
“This book focuses on the debunking of an idealized English countryside seen as a relief from the tensions of urban, modern and frenzy England. Through a great variety of media, it sheds a light on how the representations of rural England have permeated the English frame of mind and therefore enabled people to build their own identity.” (Gilles Teulié, Aix-Marseille University, France)
“Half about literature and half about the history of representations, this book offers us a subtle and thorough approach to the meanings of countryside in English cultural production. From the promotional strategies of rural tourism to the complexities of countryside settings in comedy sitcoms or in Hardy’s novels, the work provides a perspective which may change forever the way you look at the countryside!” (John Mullen, University of Rouen, France)
Editors and Affiliations
About the editor
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The English Countryside
Book Subtitle: Representations, Identities, Mutations
Editors: David Haigron
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53273-8
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-53272-1Published: 29 August 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-85111-2Published: 03 August 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-53273-8Published: 09 August 2017
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 273
Topics: British Culture, British Cinema and TV, British and Irish Literature, Cultural Heritage