The Edinburgh Companion to Irvine Welsh

by Berthold Schoene (Editor)

Overview

The subcultural enfant terrible of devolutionary protest and rebellion, Irvine Welsh is now widely acknowledged as the founding father of a whole new tradition in post-devolution Scottish writing. The unprecedented worldwide success of Trainspotting, magnified by Danny Boyle's iconic film adaptation, revolutionised Scottish culture and radically remoulded the country's self-image from dreamy romantic hinterland to agitated metropolitan hotbed. Although Welsh's career is very much an ongoing phenomenon, his influence on contemporary Scottish literary history is already indisputable and enduring. The Companion provides a thorough, up-to-date and critical evaluation of Welsh's work. New innovative readings address questions of class, subculture and drug use, nationhood, gender and narrative experimentation with reference to broader developments - such as devolution and globalisation - within contemporary Scottish, British and world culture.Features:* Covers all of Welsh's fiction, his dramatic work for the stage and for television, plus a detailed analysis of Danny Boyle's Trainspotting* Traces the author's critical and popular reception at home, abroad and overseas, and analyses the popular 'cult' and media hype surrounding his work* Examines Welsh's relations to other writers, both Scottish and non-Scottish, and his contentious position within the Scottish literary canon* Aims throughout to amalgamate a critical assessment of the work, the writer and the 'phenomenon'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780748639175
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	07/05/2010
Series:	Edinburgh Companions to Scottish Literature
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Berthold Schoene is Professor of English and Director of the English Research Institute at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is the editor of The Edinburgh Companion to Contemporary Scottish Literature (EUP, 2007) and author of The Cosmopolitan Novel (EUP, 2009) and Writing Men (EUP, 2000).

Table of Contents

Abbreviations; Series Editor's Preface; A Brief Biography; Introduction, Berthold Schoene; 1. Welsh and Tradition, Alice Ferrebe; 2. Welsh's Novels, Matt McGuire; 3. Welsh's Shorter Fiction , David Borthwick; 4. Trainspotting, the Film, Duncan Petrie; 5. Welsh and Gender, Carole Jones; 6. Welsh, Drugs and Subculture, Berthold Schoene; 7. Welsh and the Theatre, Adrienne Scullion; 8. Welsh and Identity Politics, Gavin Miller; 9. Welsh and Edinburgh, Peter Clandfield and Christian Lloyd; 10. Welsh in Translation, Katherine Ashley; Notes; Further Reading; Notes on Contributors; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"The combination of critical approaches, informe by theoretical perspectives and detailed readings of the primary texts, make this an essential source for students and researchers working on Welsh."

Years Work in English Studies

The Edinburgh Companion to Irvine Welsh makes a major contribution to this reassessment while implicitly confirming Welsh's standing as a major Scottish writer.

Scottish Literary Review - Robert Morace