Cities and Literature (Routledge Critical Introductions to Urbanism and the City)

This Book Offers A Critical Introduction To The Relation Between Cities And Literature (fiction, Poetry And Literary Criticism) From The Late Eighteenth To Twenty-first Centuries. It Examines Examples Of Writing From Europe, North America And Post-colonial Countries, Juxtaposed With Key Ideas From Urban Cultural And Critical Theories. Cities And Literature Shows How Literature Frames Real And Imagined Constructs And Experiences Of Cities. Arranged Thematically Each Chapter Offers A Narrative Which Introduces A Number Of Key Thinkers And Writers Whose Vision Illuminates The Prevailing Idea Of The City At The Time. The Themes Are Extended Or Challenged By Boxed Cases Of Specific Texts Or Images Accompanied By Short Critical Commentaries; The Structure Provides Readers With A Map Of The Terrain Enabling Connections Across Time And Place Within Manageable Limits, And Offers Elements Of Critical Discussion To Serve A Growing Number Of University Courses Which Involve The Intersections Of Cities And Literature. This Volume Offers Access To Literature From An Urban Perspective For The Social Sciences, And Access To Urbanism From A Literary Viewpoint. It Is An Excellent Resource For Both Undergraduate And Postgraduate Students In The Fields Of Urban Studies And English Literature, Planning, Cultural And Human Geographies, Architecture, Cultural Studies And Cultural Policy. Introduction -- The City And The Countryside -- Utopias -- Dystopias -- Metropolis -- Bohemians And Avant-gardes -- Ruins -- Exile -- Post-war -- Alterities -- Cosmopolitanisms. Malcolm Miles. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of figures 7 List of boxes 8 Introduction 9 Scope and limits 11 Themes and synopsis 12 Notes 14 1. The city and the countryside 16 Longbourne 17 Land-scape 23 Land-escape 26 Wild-scape 27 Inescapable ties 29 Lost idylls? 31 Conclusion 34 Notes 35 2. Utopias 38 Problematic utopianism 39 Bliss 41 Escapades 43 Palaces and arcades 48 Building utopia 50 An ideal city? Samuel and Henrietta Barnett 51 Gilded panes 55 Notes 57 3. Dystopias 60 Silas the hand-weaver 61 Poor people, dark times 63 Wider publics 66 Internalisation and reform 69 Sister Carrie – decline and fall 72 Void 73 Residual dystopianism 76 Notes 78 4. Metropolis 81 Metropolitan perceptions 81 Women’s Berlin? 84 Gendered space 85 Writing the metropolis 89 Bloomsbury affinities 95 Notes 98 5. Bohemians and avant-gardes 102 L’Abbeye de Créteil and modernist autonomy 103 Women in bohemia and the avant-gardes 109 Simultaneity 115 Notes 119 6. Ruinscapes 122 The attraction of ruins 122 Terminal decline 124 Themes 129 The maquis 134 Notes 138 7. Exile 142 Waiting 142 Nostalgia 145 Realism 149 Going 156 Notes 160 8. Post-war 163 A honeyed peace? 164 A new vision 167 Working-class tales 169 Not-not going on 172 Being engaged 177 Notes 180 9. Alterities 184 Belonging? 186 The Windrush generation 188 Colonial hauntings 191 Post-colonial subjects 197 Notes 201 10. Cosmopolitanisms 205 Rational cosmopolitanism 206 German tragic drama 208 Cosmopolitanisms 210 Postmodern cosmopolitanisms 213 Contingent cosmopolitanism 219 Conclusion 221 Notes 223 Selected bibliography of critical (secondary) sources 226 Index 232