Jenni Fagan, The Panopticon

Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow)

Ed. by Gina Lyle, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2013

Places

Scotland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Jenni Fagan’s debut novel,

The Panopticon

, was published in 2012 by Heinemann. Drawing partly from Fagan’s own experiences in the Scottish care system, the book earned a place on Waterstones’ list of eleven best worldwide debuts in 2012 and secured her inclusion in Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists list in 2013 (Singh 2012, Higgins 2013). The novel was later adapted for the theatre under the same title, with the National Theatre of Scotland staging the play in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2019 (National Theatre 2019).

The Panopticon introduces readers to Anais Hendricks, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been in the Scottish care system since birth. The narrative begins as she is loaded into a police car, on suspicion of putting PC Dawn Craig in a coma, covered in blood yet

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1828 words

Citation: Lyle, Gina. "The Panopticon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 March 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41473, accessed 05 May 2024.]

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