Angela Carter’s fourth work of fiction, Heroes and Villains, first published in 1969, is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel depicting how societies have survived and new cultures born from a global catastrophe. Post-apocalyptic fiction saw a surge in popularity during the Cold-War era, due to nuclear fear, Mutual Assured Destruction Theory, and the threat posed by the West’s arms race with the Soviet Union -- literature and film performed as an outlet for this fear. The novel is a part of the New Wave Science Fiction movement of the 1960s and 1970s; characterised by post-modernism and nonconformity, these works are often highly metaphorical, speculative, and subversive. The subgenre mirrors the influence of 1960s permissive subculture, conveying an interest in experimental sex, pessimism, and the taboo. Heroes and Villains does just this; it is a novel...
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Citation: Nicholson-Muir, Megan. "Heroes and Villains". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 February 2026 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4765, accessed 09 June 2026.]
