British Writing, Propaganda and Cultural Diplomacy in the Second World War and Beyond - by Beatriz Lopez & James Smith & Guy Woodward (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This book offers the first sustained analysis of the interactions between British writers, propaganda and culture from the Second World War to the Cold War.It traces the involvement of a series of major cultural figures in domestic and international propaganda campaigns and throws new light on the global deployment of British propaganda and cultural diplomacy in colonial and post-colonial theatres such as Cyprus, India and Sierra Leone.

Chapters re-evaluate the propaganda work of prominent writers including Arthur Koestler and Dylan Thomas in the light of new archival research, study how organisations including the BBC, British Council and Ministry of Information engaged with new media forms, analyse cultural representations of propaganda service and investigate how British literature and culture was deployed and projected as a form of soft power across the globe.

Featuring contributions from a variety of disciplines, including literary studies, visual culture, book history and radio history, this book brings together a constellation of established and emerging scholars to show the crucial role played in shaping and mediating the techniques and content of British information campaigns of the mid-twentieth century.

Review Quotes

This collection of essays on British propaganda and literature is timely, engaging, and altogether intriguing. All in all, this is an exemplary ensemble of essays that will be much appreciated by scholars working in British studies, Second World War and Cold War studies, and cultural diplomacy.
Professor Allan Hepburn, James McGill Professor of 20th Century Literature, McGill University, Canada

About the Author

Beatriz Lopez completed a PhD on Muriel Spark and propaganda at Durham
University, UK.

James Smith is Professor of English Studies at Durham University, UK. He is the
editor of The Cambridge Companion to British Literature of the 1930s and the
author of British Writers and MI5 Surveillance, 1930-1960.

Guy Woodward is Research Associate in the Department of English Studies at
Durham University, UK. He is the author of Culture, Northern Ireland, and the Second World
War.