Elaine Feinstein, The Amberstone Exit

Gina Wisker (University of Brighton)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1972

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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A period piece,

The Amberstone Exit

(1972) focuses on a young single mother, Emily, and her struggle to find her own identity, her own version of love. Relationships are explored in

The Amberstone Exit

. The novel starts in the labour ward, where a young girl Emily, gives birth to a son, Emmanuel. She recalls her adolescent times with her older friend Theresa who was rather mad, her brief fling with Frederick and her more resounding fling with Max. The experience of post-war days in a Britain still frugal, in which the populace oscillate between intense artificial partying and self denial, is apparent in both the girls' excessive dressing up for dances, and the constricting, mean anger of Emily's parents when she visits with the baby.

Remembering. Those ill-lit January fogs, walking back

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357 words

Citation: Wisker, Gina. "The Amberstone Exit". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 October 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1581, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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