“It is keenly aware and neatly arranged in examining individual authors and their unique qualities while also tracing connecting threads within the many works of the British novel. Bradford … also establishes deep contexts for his work and the works he examines.” (Evelyn Waugh Newsletter And Studies) "This survey of a vast field is elegantly managed, with agreeable readings along the way." (The Guardian) "Bradford is formidable, bracing and wildly stimulating" (The Telegraph) Praise for Richard Bradford’s previous works: For Lucky Him: The Life of Kingsley Amis "sharp and convincing… written with magisterial skill" (The Daily Telegraph) "perceptive… intelligent… written with an unstrident ease and sympathy that would surely have pleased his subject" (The Spectator) For First Boredom, Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin "quite the best book [on him] yet to appear… a masterful analysis… Bradford is in such complete command of his subject matter, nothing escapes him. It is as if he has had access to Larkin’s very thought processes. A great biography of a great artistic genius. Utterly magnificent" (The Daily Express) "extraordinary… quite the best thing to appear on Larkin in ages" (The London Evening Standard)