Myth, Memory and the Middlebrow : Priestley, Du Maurier and the Symbolic Form of Englishness

This study explores Englishness as a 'symbolic form' from the 1920s to the 1940s. Two case studies, focused on J.B. Priestley and Daphne du Maurier, explore crucial ways in which popular 'middlebrow' authors imagine and shape the nation, providing an innovative approach to literary negotiations of cultural identity. Globalization, Devolution And The Challenges Of A Postcolonial And Multicultural Society Have Fuelled The Debate About National Identity In Britain In Recent Years. Notions Of Individual And Collective Identity Have Revolved Around A Number Of Stereotypes Of ̀britishness' Or ̀englishness' Which Appear Ever More Incongruous. This Study Suggests That These Debates Still Draw On Discourses Of Englishness Which Were Shaped In The Interwar Period And Amplified In Second World War Propaganda. From The 1920s To The 1940s, Englishness As A Form Of Collective And Cultural Identity Can Be Described As A ̀symbolic Form', Comprising Specific Notions Of The People And Their Relationship To The Country, Most Powerfully Visualized In Landscapes Embodying A ̀mythical Present'. Two Case Studies, Focused On J.b. Priestley And Daphne Du Maurier, Explore Crucial Ways In Which Popular ̀middlebrow' Authors Imagine And Shape The Nation, Providing A Fresh And Innovative Approach To Literary Negotiations Of Cultural Identity --book Jacket. Cover; Contents; Acknowledgements; Part I: Introduction: Englishness As A Symbolic Form; 1 Identity: Englishness And The Reconfiguration Of The Nation; 2 Myth: Ideologies, Symbolic Forms And The 'mythical Present'; 3 Memory: Shaping The Present Out Of The Past; 4 Media: Challenging Modernism -- The 'middlebrow' And Memodrama; Part Ii: J.b. Priestley: Shaping Communities; 5 Steak-and-kidney Pie In The Land Of Cockaigne; 6 English Journeys; 7 Addressing The People; Part Iii: Daphne Du Maurier: (de- )familiarizing The Nation; 8 Dreamtime In Cornwall; 9 From Gothic To Memodrama. Ina Habermann. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Part I: Introduction: Englishness as a Symbolic Form......Page 12 1 Identity: Englishness and the Reconfiguration of the Nation......Page 14 2 Myth: Ideologies, Symbolic Forms and the 'Mythical Present'......Page 20 3 Memory: Shaping the Present out of the Past......Page 37 4 Media: Challenging Modernism – the 'Middlebrow' and Memodrama......Page 42 Part II: J. B. Priestley: Shaping Communities......Page 54 5 Steak-and-Kidney Pie in the Land of Cockaigne......Page 56 5.1 The Good Companions......Page 58 5.2 They Walk in the City......Page 64 5.3 Faraway......Page 67 6.1 H. V. Morton......Page 72 6.2 J. B. Priestley......Page 91 6.3 George Orwell......Page 106 7.1 The pamphleteer......Page 116 7.2 The broadcaster......Page 124 7.3 The storyteller......Page 137 Part III: Daphne du Maurier: (De-)Familiarizing the Nation......Page 158 8.1 The Loving Spirit......Page 160 8.2 Frenchman's Creek......Page 172 9.1 Jamaica Inn......Page 181 9.2 Rebecca......Page 188 10.1 The public and private faces of war......Page 203 10.2 Hungry Hill......Page 210 10.3 The King's General......Page 215 Notes......Page 222 Index......Page 246 Globalisation, devolution and the challenges of a postcolonial and multicultural society have fuelled the debate about national identity in Britain in recent years. Notions of individual and collective identity have revolved around a number of stereotypes of & lsquo;Britishness & rsquo; or & lsquo;Englishness & rsquo; which appear ever more incongruous. This study suggests that these debates still draw on discourses of Englishness which were shaped in the interwar period and amplified in Second World War propaganda. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Englishness as a form of collective and cultural identity can be described as a & lsquo;symbolic form & rsquo;, comprising specific notions of the people and their relationship to the country, most powerfully visualized in landscapes embodying a & lsquo;mythical present & rsquo;. Two case studies, focused on J.B. Priestley and Daphne du Maurier, explore crucial ways in which popular & lsquo;middlebrow & rsquo; authors imagine and shape the nation. This book thus provides a fresh and innovative approach to literary negotiations of cultural identity Globalisation, devolution and the challenges of a postcolonial and multicultural society have fuelled the debate about national identity in Britain in recent years. Notions of individual and collective identity have revolved around a number of stereotypes of 'Britishness' or 'Englishness' which appear ever more incongruous. This study suggests that these debates still draw on discourses of Englishness which were shaped in the interwar period and amplified in Second World War propaganda. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Englishness as a form of collective and cultural identity can be described as a 'symbolic form', comprising specific notions of the people and their relationship to the country, most powerfully visualized in landscapes embodying a 'mythical present'. Two case studies, focused on J.B. Priestley and Daphne du Maurier, explore crucial ways in which popular 'middlebrow' authors imagine and shape the nation, providing a fresh and innovative approach to literary negotiations of cultural identity