Literary apartheid in the post‐war London novel: finding the middle ground

Abstract

This article examines the development of literary apartheid in post‐war English fiction. While Anglo‐English novelists have generally not included black or Asian characters, London novelists have been an exception to the prevailing little Englandism. Separate critical traditions have also played a role: Anglo‐English critics have shown little interest in race, while black and Asian critics have been engaged in the necessary task of tracing black and Asian British traditions. Drawing on key texts from the 1950s to the 1970s (Colin MacInnes and Barbara Pym) and from the 1980s to the present (Michael Moorcock and Maggie Gee), the essay discusses varied Anglo‐English responses to the development of London as a multicultural city.