Soldier heroes : British adventure, empire, and the imagining of masculinities

Soldier Heroes explores the imagining of masculinities within adventure stories. Drawing on literary theory, cultural materialism and Kleinian psychoanalysis, it analyses modern British adventure heroes as historical forms of masculinity originating in the era of nineteenth-century popular imperialism, traces their subsequent transformations and examines the way these identities are internalized and lived by men and boys. Soldier Heroes Of The Modern World Have Proved Potent Images Of Britishness And The Masculine. Soldier Heroes Presents A Ground-breaking Exploration Of The Imagining Of Masculinities In Adventure Stories. Its Analyses Range Across Biographies And News Reports, Novels And Play Fantasies. Drawing On Literary Theory, Cultural Materialism And Psychoanalysis, It Traces A History Of British Heroic Masculinities From Nineteenth-century Imperialism To The Present, And Examines Their Internalization In The Lived Identities Of Men And Boys. Introduction: Soldier Heroes, Masculinity And British National Identity -- Pt. I. Soldier Heroes, Adventure And The Historical Imagining Of Masculinities. 1. Soldier Heroes And The Narrative Imagining Of Masculinities. 2. Masculinity, Phantasy And History. 3. The Adventure Quest And Its Cultural Imaginaries -- Pt. Ii. The Hero-making And Hagiography Of Havelock Of Lucknow: Imperialism And Military Adventure In The Nineteenth Century. 4. The Imagining Of A Hero: Sir Henry Havelock, The Indian Rebellion And The News. 5. Commemorating The Exemplary Life: The Havelock Hagiography -- Pt. Iii. The Public And Private Lives Of T.e. Lawrence: The Imperial Adventure Hero In The Modern World. 6. The Blond Bedouin: Lawrence Of Arabia And Imperial Adventure In The Modern World. 7. The Public And Private Lives Of T.e. Lawrence: The Adventure Hero And Modernist Masculinity. 8. Public Pathologies: T.e. Lawrence, Psychological Biography And The Cultural Politics Of Imperial Decline. Graham Dawson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Soldier heroes of the modern world have proved potent images of Britishness and the masculine. Soldier Heroes presents a ground-breaking exploration of the imagining of masculinities in adventure stories. Its analyses range across biographies and news reports, novels and play fantasies. Drawing on literary theory, cultural materialism and psychoanalysis, it traces a history of British heroic masculinities from nineteenth-century imperialism to the present, and examines their internalization in the lived identities of men and boys."--BOOK JACKET Presents a ground-breaking exploration of the imagining of masculinities in adventure stories, considering such great hero-figures as T.E. Lawrence and Henry Havelock. It traces a history from nineteenth century imperialism to the present