Malcolm Bradbury’s range of talents as a novelist, literary critic, writer for television and university teacher made him an influential presence on the British and international cultural scene. The primary theme in his seven well-crafted novels was the plight of liberal humanism in the later twentieth century as it came under threat from ideologies which denied or diminished the role of the individual, such as Marxism, structuralism, monetarism and postmodernism. His chief fictional mode was comedy of a kind that combined verbal wit, the humour of situations, and sharp satirical observation of contemporary attitudes, appearances and forms of behaviour. Bradbury was often associated, and sometimes confused, with David Lodge [see entry]; both were leading exponents of the modern campus…

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Citation: Tredell, Nicolas. "Sir Malcolm Bradbury". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 June 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=528, accessed 19 March 2024.]

528 Sir Malcolm Bradbury 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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