Routledge Raymond Williams: Literature, Marxism and Cultural Materialism (Critics of the Twentieth Century)

Raymond Williams' prolific output is increasingly recognised as the most influential body of work on literary and cultural studies in the past fifty years. This book provides the most comprehensive study to date of the theoretical and historical context of Williams' thinking on literature, politics and culture. John Higgins traces: * Williams' intellectual development * the related growth of a New Left cultural politics * the origins of the theory and practice of cultural materialism.Raymond Williams is an astonishing achievement and will challenge many received ideas about Williams' work. Review "I think that Higgins's account of William's thought has no parallel in the literature. It is likely to be the authoritative study for some time." -Dennis Dworkin, Left History, Vol. 8.1 "The first detailed, full-length examination of the whole body of Raymond Williams' work, admirably exhaustive, well-researched and lucidly written." -Terry Eagleton, Oxford University About the Author John Higgins is Senior Lecturer in English and a Convenor of the Theory of Literature Programme at the University of Cape Town. He is the founding editor of the journal Pretexts: Studies in Writing and Culture.