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Chapter 13 - The Psycho-political Novel of Ideas and the Second World War

from Part III - 1945–1975

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2024

By
Adam Piette
Edited by
Rachel Potter  and
Matthew Taunton
Rachel Potter
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia
Matthew Taunton
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia
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Summary

The paper will be looking at two Second World War texts, Olaf Stapledon’s 1944 science fiction fantasy Sirius, about the genetic modification of a sheepdog so that it becomes a superdog capable of speech and spiritual and erotic relationships; and Charles Williams’ 1945 theological fantasy All Hallow’s Eve. The novels are novels of ideas, testing theories of creative evolution and species distinctions with Stapledon, and damnation and control with Williams: both explore the death drive within the psyche in war culture, and posit the very different ways infection by Fascist politics have shaped those explorations.

Keywords

geneticsdeath drivefascismfantasywar culture
Type
Chapter
Information
The British Novel of Ideas
George Eliot to Zadie Smith
 , pp. 225 - 241
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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