Fictions of the City - Language, Discourse, Society by Matthew Taunton Hardcover

Book Synopsis

Many studies of fictions of city life take the flâneur as the characteristic metropolitan type and streets and plazas as definitive urban spaces. Looking at novels and films set in London and Paris from L'Assommoir to Nil By Mouth, this book shows that mass housing is equally central to images of the modern city.

Review Quotes

'...seamlessly combining contemporary debates in urban planning...this book challenges the traditional conformity associated with the prevailing views on mass housing.' - The Times Literary Supplement

'...[an] original and interesting book...this book makes an interesting contribution by combining urban studies with literature and cinema' - International Journal of Housing Policy

About the Author

MATTHEW TAUNTON has taught at University College London, Birkbeck College, Goldsmiths College, Central St Martins and the Open University, UK. His research interests lie in British and French literature from the nineteenth century to the present, urban studies, media history and film. His journalism appears in the New Statesman and the Times Literary Supplement.