Abstract
This Chapter places the British terror novel in both its national and international context. Although the end of Empire had been feted since the 1950s (Whittle, 14) the 1970s saw a renewed postcolonial funk dominating Britain’s understanding of its role in the world. Common depictions of foreign terrorists conform to colonial prejudices regarding race but are also contrasted against depictions of Britain and its agents as powerless in a postcolonial world. By analysing postcolonial structures of feeling, this chapter establishes core themes which will emerge throughout the proceeding study including: questions of belief, authenticity and commitment, the morality of violence, and role of the state in the protection of liberty. From a primarily foreign focus, the chapter then goes on to show how Britain itself is presented in a postcolonial manner.
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Darlington, J. (2018). The Terrorist Novel, Thrillers and Postcolonial Britain. In: British Terrorist Novels of the 1970s. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77896-9_3
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