What has gone wrong with English novels? Why do they seem so feeble compared to the Victorian greats? Is it the fault of the writing or the fragmented modern world the writers try to capture? D.J. Taylor asks these tough, fundamental questions. Following his reading of a host of authors - Waugh and Powell, Kingsley Amis, Malcolm Bradbury, John Fowles, A.S. Byatt and many more - readers can trace, in this account of modern fiction, a particular tradition and even define the "Thatcherite" novel. It is also possible to look at history differently, from the post-war dreams to the nineties recession.