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This module explores the genre of Middlebrow Writing as it emerged in the period 1920-1950, paying attention to the topical concerns with which it engaged, as well as considering questions of literary popularity and reader communities.

This module will introduce students to Middlebrow writing through a range of British novels and short stories looking at key authors from J.B. Priestley to Winifred Holtby and from Stella Gibbons to Daphne Du Maurier. These will be read alongside other literary genres and cultural forms in order to foster an understanding of how popular literature functions to calibrate the cultural and political climate on issues such as war, gender and sexual identity, class-consciousness, and changing perceptions of nation and empire.

A student passing this module should be able to:

1.demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of how popular literature such as Middlebrow writing produces and reflects cultural changes such as shifting class, gender, national and imperial identities;

2.critically analyse and identify patterns across a range of middlebrow writing, as well as compare that with other genres of writing and cultural forms; 

3.appreciate key areas of scholarly debate appropriate to level 5 and synthesise that information with independent thought in an effective written and oral argument; 

4.recognize and critically reflect upon questions of literary taste, intended readership, reception, the literary market and canon formation in order to evaluate generic boundaries.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.