In Their Own Words British Novelists: Among the Ruins (1919-1939) 2010
Distributed by Films Media Group, 132 West 31st St., 17th Floor, New York, NY 10001; 800-257-5126
Produced by David Berry and Open University UK
Directed by David Berry
DVD, color, 59 min. (contains instances of mature themes and explicit imagery and some language may be offensive)
Sr. High - General Adult
Literature, Novel Writing, History
Date Entered: 02/15/2012
Reviewed by Jane Scott, Public Services Librarian, George Fox UniversityThis is the first of a three part documentary series covering the transformation of the British novel in the 20th Century from the years 1919 to 1990.
Part 1, Among the Ruins, covers the British novel in the time directly after World War I until the start of WWII: 1919-1939. This was a time of stark realization for England. Life as it had been known and the concept of the English empire would never be the same. Coming to terms with this new understanding was reflected in the work of the Bloomsbury Group and particularly in the novels of E.M. Forester and Virginia Woolf. The swirl of new ideologies in the 30s (democracy, fascism, socialism) amidst the clash of socio-economic groups and classes gave rise to the literary works of Barbara Cartland, P.G. Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh, Elizabeth Bowen, Jean Rhys, Robert Graves, and T.H. White. The early 40s heralded new world dangers and those were reflected in the novels of Christopher Isherwood, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, and Graham Greene.
This documentary is well done and accomplishes its goal. Each novelist tells their own story as seen or heard on archival footage from the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). The effect is that the viewer sees history through the eyes of the authors as well their highlighted novels. Commentary provided by current British novelists and literary scholars adds additional information as well as analysis. The BBC archival footage is of good quality as are the additional photos from representative archives and news clips. It is especially instructive to hear novelists talk about their novels and in many cases see them respond in interview situations. The viewer is given a true sense of the transformation of the novel as its authors used the medium to reflect changes within their culture and the world.
This documentary would be especially instructive for the study of British literature and particularly the study of the British novel. Each author speaks about their work in a separate chapter, making the documentary useful for the classroom where the introduction of an individual novel or author may be desired.
Additional archival material is available on the BBC Archive web site.