Between The Wars: An Activist Novel

The first part of this thesis, Between The Wars, is a novel based on the life and work of pacifist and social reformer Muriel Lester. It 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. The novel is also an exploration of the relationship between activism and fiction, and the possibility of representing Lester's ideas in fictional form. The second part of the thesis discusses the process of writing an activist novel that seeks change and yet allows, indeed encourages, the reader to question its beliefs. Idealistic, complex, unflinching, and yet ultimately likeable, Muriel Lester is a challenge to the familiar narratives of 20th century history. Yet the closer to her activism the novel gets, the less certain it becomes, the more it casts itself into question.