'Avarice’ and ‘evil doers’: profiteers, politicians, and popular fiction in the 1920s

Grandy, Christine (2011) 'Avarice’ and ‘evil doers’: profiteers, politicians, and popular fiction in the 1920s. Journal of British Studies, 50 (3). pp. 667-689. ISSN 0021-9371

Full content URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/659877

Documents
JBS July 2011 C. Grandy.pdf
[img]
[Download]
[img]
Preview
PDF
JBS July 2011 C. Grandy.pdf - Whole Document

193kB
Item Type:Article
Item Status:Live Archive

Abstract

This article examines the depiction of the profiteer as villain within popular low and middlebrow British novels from the 1920s. It argues that concerns with profiteering persisted in the landscape of popular fiction well after the end of World War I in works by authors such as H.C. McNeile and Warwick Deeping among others. The figure of the profiteering villain embodied anxieties about profiteering, food shortages, and 'big business' during a period of intense economic and political instability, while further allowing the ex-soldier to be simultaneously re-imagined after the war as a heroic breadwinner and soldier.

Keywords:British history, Profiteering, Masculinity, Rationing, Popular culture, British fiction
Subjects:V Historical and Philosophical studies > V140 Modern History
V Historical and Philosophical studies > V210 British History
Divisions:College of Arts > School of History & Heritage > School of History & Heritage (History)
ID Code:10696
Deposited On:11 Jul 2013 10:45

Repository Staff Only: item control page