Literature in the light of Winters of Discontent The case of James Herbert’s The Rats 1974

Abstract

The present work tackles the British literature during the Winters of Discontent period and its demonstration in James Herbert‟s trilogy entitled The Rats. Within this scope, the first chapter offers an overview of literature as a broad concept and sheds light on the British literature most particularly. Respectively, the second chapter delves into post modernism in the light of literature including its historical background, characteristics, etc. As for the third chapter, the Winter of Discontent is highlighted as a period which witnessed the collapse of the British Empire. In this line of thoughts, the historical events which marked the fore mentioned era are introduced as well as a description of literature and the writing characteristics of that time (from 1970 to 1979). Last but not least, the fourth chapter is an attempt to analyze The Rats with relation to the contents of the previous chapters.