'New Elizabethans': The Representation of Youth Subcultures in 1950s British Fiction

BENTLEY, N

Abstract

This paper looks at the way youth subcultures are represented in selected 1950s British fiction, with a particular emphasis on the Teddy boys. While there has been much work done on the sociological contexts, musical expression, and semiotics of youth subcultures, there has been relatively little research done on the way they have been represented in fiction. This paper addresses this lack by examining selected fiction from a number of writers including Colin MacInnes, Alan Sillitoe, Muriel Spark and Keith Waterhouse. The analysis begins by exploring the way youth is represented in the mainstream media and some other cultural commentary and then goes on to produce a comparative analysis of the fiction. It argues that where the media and cultural commentary tends to stereotype and demonise certain youth subcultures, the fiction offers a more heterogeneous and sometimes sympathetic representation.

Citation

BENTLEY, N. (2010). 'New Elizabethans': The Representation of Youth Subcultures in 1950s British Fiction. Literature and History, 19, 16--33

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2010
• Deposit Date: Jul 4, 2023
• Journal: Literature \& History
• Print ISSN: 0306-1973
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Pages: 16--33
• Keywords: Youth, Subcultures, Teddy boys, MacInnes, Spark, Sillitoe, Waterhouse, British, Fiction
• Publisher URL: http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/