1. Recent British Fiction: Session One Zadie Smith and Monica Ali

2. Agenda Eagleton, Rennison and the idea of a tradition Zadie Smith Monica Ali Mediators of fiction

3. Terry Eagleton, The English Novel: An Introduction Liberal humanism –[i]s the world-view which unites Ian McEwan and Fay Weldon, A. S. Byatt and Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and Rose Tremain. It is, in a word, the official ethical and political doctrine of literary London – a remarkably resilient, deep-seated consensus which has survived a whole series of historical upheavals, and which helps to determine what counts as acceptable belief or fiction today. It is an honourable world view, humane, enlightened and morally serious. Whether it is adequate to a globalized world of terrorism and transnational corporations is a different question.” (337)

4. Nick Rennison, Contemporary British Novelists In the last twenty-five years the older idea of the British Novel (or, more often, the English Novel), carefully capitalised in its spelling and drawing on a recognised historical tradition, has disintegrated and fragmented. In truth, the monolithic notion of the British Novel was always something of a mythical beast. Even as the tradition was being constructed, there were other voices – those in righteous rebellion against it – that demanded to be heard. Certainly, in 2004 there is no such strange creature as the British Novel (or English Novel). Making sweeping generalisations about British fiction has always been a perilous pastime, but now it seems more than ever counterproductive. There is no great tradition of the English novel any longer. There are only individual novels (viii)

5. Monica Ali British Council –Biography –Bibliography –Prizes and Awards

6. Monica Ali Brick Lane –Point of view –Character and plot –Imagery –Theme –What kind of novel are we dealing with?

7. Zadie Smith British Council: –Biography –Bibliography –Prizes and Awards –Critical perspective

8. Zadie Smith White Teeth –Point of view –Character and plot –Imagery –Theme –What kind of novel are we dealing with?

9. Zadie Smith The Autograph Man –Point of view –Character and plot –Imagery –Theme –What kind of novel are we dealing with?

10. Mediators of fiction WWW The British Council The Guardian MostlyFiction.com Random House The uses and functions of fiction