Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Writing the activist novel

Martin-Carey, Alexandra (2017) Writing the activist novel. New Writing, 15 (1). pp. 100-104. ISSN 1479-0726. E-ISSN 1943-3107. (doi:10.1080/14790726.2017.1376812) (KAR id:64177)

Abstract

Between The Wars is a novel based on the life and work of pacifist and social reformer Muriel Lester. An early member of anti-war organisation The Fellowship of Reconciliation, Lester was also a friend of Gandhi and a founder of the East London church and community centre Kingsley Hall. Between The Wars is an interrogation of the beliefs that inspired her, the Christian pacifist movement she was a part of, and the challenge of living out the values of peace through two world wars. It is also an exploration of the relationship between activism and fiction, and the possibility of representing Lester’s ideas in fictional form. This paper examines the process of writing an activist novel that seeks change and yet allows, indeed encourages, the reader to question its beliefs, tracing the connections between the activism of Muriel Lester and the form and style of the novel she inspired.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/14790726.2017.1376812
Uncontrolled keywords: Activism, writing process, novel form, creative writing, historical fiction
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of English
Depositing User: Alexandra Martin-Carey
Date Deposited: 30 Oct 2017 15:43 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 05:07 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/64177 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Martin-Carey, Alexandra.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.