British travel writing on the Soviet Union and the development of left-wing literature of the 1930s

Thesis

Critical accounts of left-wing literature of the nineteen-thirties are reconsidering the travel writing genre. Challenging prevailing views of travel writing as separate from other forms of literary writing, recent work reveals how writers relied on travel writing as an important imaginative resource for their wider literary projects. Contributing to this movement, my thesis examines British travel writing on the Soviet Union in the interwar period (c.1922-c.1938), investigating the overlooked relationship between this travel writing and left-wing literature. By focussing on the literary characteristics of this travel writing, this thesis argues for a more nuanced understanding of the genre’s relationship with left-wing literature of the nineteen-thirties. Examining the neglected works of Ralph Fox, Amabel Williams-Ellis and John Lehmann, this thesis traces how their travels to, and travel writing on, the Soviet Union provided them with the experiences and written records that became central components to the development of their distinct literary projects.

Authors: Davis, J

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-orowjjq2j
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English