Outrageous Britain: Granta and the Rebellion Against the English Novel

• Published in: Études britanniques contemporaines Vol. 45; no. 45
• Main Author: Beaufils, Cécile
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée 24.10.2013; Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
• Subjects: British novel; English novel; Granta; literary magazine; literary marketing; outrage; philistine controversy; roman anglais; controverse béotienne; Granta; outrage; British novel; magazine littéraire; marketing littéraire; literary magazine; literary marketing; English novel
• ISSN: 1168-4917; 2271-5444
• DOI: 10.4000/ebc.766

The contemporary British literary magazine Granta started its second life in 1979 when it emerged as a key outlet for ‘new writing’ in English. It chose, from its first issue, to position itself as the voice of outrage against the model of the English novel which, according to the editors, still pervaded the literary production. The magazine has, in its early issues, used outrage as a paradoxical tool, both speaking against the established trends and attempting to become part of the literary landscape. Outrage, the expression of anger and the challenging of set aesthetic boundaries, is then a marketing posture which enabled the magazine to establish its image. This paper maps out how Granta has declared ‘The End of the English Novel’ in 1980 before, in more recent issues, focusing on the new model of the British novel.