Intrigue by Allan Hepburn

Intrigue by Allan Hepburn

An inventive and surprising examination of a century of spy fiction. Why do spies have such cachet in the twentieth century? Why do they keep reinventing themselves? What do they mean in a political process? This book examines the tradition of the spy narrative from its inception in the late nineteenth century through the present day. Ranging from John le Carré’s bestsellers to Elizabeth Bowen’s novels, from James Bond to John Banville’s contemporary narratives, Allan Hepburn sets the historical contexts of these fictions: the Cambridge spy ring; the Profumo Affair; the witch-hunts against gay men in the civil service and diplomatic corps in the 1950s. Instead of focusing on the formulaic nature of the genre, Intrigue emphasizes the responsiveness of spy stories to particular historical contingencies. Hepburn begins by offering a systematic theory of the conventions and attractions of espionage fiction and then examines the British and Irish tradition of spy novels. A final section considers the particular form that American spy narratives have taken as they have cross-fertilized with the tradition of American romance in works such as Joan Didion’s Democracy andJohn Barth’s Sabbatical.

“Intrigue is a masterful work—a learned, insightful, and elegant account of a significant genre of twentieth-century fictionIt will certainly be read for decades to come and will be an indispensable reference for any future study of spy fiction.”—Pericles Lewis, Yale University

“Intrigue, informed by wide reading in espionage literature, history, political and cultural theory, is literary and ideological criticism of the most sophisticated and nuanced kind.”—Maria DiBattista, Princeton University

"Intrigue, informed by wide reading in espionage literature, history, political and cultural theory, is literary and ideological criticism of the most sophisticated and nuanced kind."—Maria DiBattista, Princeton University

-- Maria DiBattista

"Intrigue is a masterful work—a learned, insightful, and elegant account of a significant genre of twentieth century fiction. It will certainly be read for decades to come and will be an indispensable reference for any future study of spy fiction."—Pericles Lewis, Yale University

 

-- Pericles Lewis

Allan Hepburn teaches English literature at McGill University. He has published widely on twentieth-century literature and culture. He has also written for such Canadian publications as The National Post, The Financial Post, and The Globe & Mail.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780300104981
ISBN 10	0300104987
Title	Intrigue
Author	Allan Hepburn
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	Yale University Press
Year published	2005-03-11
Number of pages	352
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.