What about the Rogue?

This book gives an account of the significance of the rogue in contemporary British literature and culture, focusing on this character’s survival and metamorphosis from the second half of the 20th century onwards. While the character of the rogue is most often associated with the 16th and 17th centuries, the author focuses on contemporary literary texts, as well as cinematographic adaptations. She discusses the revival of the rogue mainly in the 1950s, adopting a comparative approach, establishing connections to other fields of representation besides literature. Thus, the originality of this book lies in its interdisciplinary nature. The focus on contemporary writers who have put the character of the rogue at the forefront in their works, particularly Martin Amis and Irvine Welsh, and the author’s awareness of the socio-political circumstances in which the books were written, adds substantially to our understanding of the rogue character.

Ana Raquel Lourenço Fernandes received her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Lisbon in 2008. Currently she is a researcher in the University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies, where her principal project involves the short story in contemporary British and Portuguese women’s writing. She also holds the position of Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music, University of Birmingham, UK.

«Ana Raquel Lourenco Fernandes’s book is a superb piece of work. Rooted in very thorough scholarship, the book is also written in a very clear and accessible language, as well as being playful in its arrangement of texts and paratexts. [...] The book is an excellent toolbox for any reader interested in literature that tackles the subversive, as it simply touches on all the significant aspects worth paying attention to in this genre.» (Camelia Elias, Cercles)

Contents: Analysis of the character of the rogue in contemporary British fiction and culture – The literature of roguery nowadays – Martin Amis and Irvine Welsh.