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45 - The Essay in the Career of the Contemporary British Novelist

from Part V - The Essay and the Essayistic Today

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2024

By
Martin Paul Eve
Edited by
Denise Gigante  and
Jason Childs
Denise Gigante
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
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Summary

Aside from its intellectual content, the essay provides a space for contemporary British novelists to enhance their career prospects. This takes the threefold forms of intertexual affiliation by co-publication within the same title as other writers; of creating a space in which to generate prestige-enhancing controversy; and of enabling novelists to hold academic affiliations. This chapter examines these features through a network analysis of the publications in The London Review of Books over the past two decades and then through case studies of Hilary Mantel, Will Self, Tom McCarthy, and Zadie Smith.

Keywords

Will SelfHilary MantelTom McCarthyZadie SmithThe London Review of Booksessaynetwork analysisnovelistcareerreview
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of the British Essay , pp. 681 - 695
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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