Critics labelled this and similar works by osbornes contemporaries as being part of the angry young man generation. It is about jim a junior history lecturer at a provincial university in the early 1950s. The novel won the somerset maugham award for fiction and amis became one of the writers known as the angry young men. With john welsh, ronald cardew, hugh griffith, kenneth griffith. Oct 01, 2012 thirtyplus years after reading lucky jim for the first time, i dont remember exactly what i thought of the book, why it struck the chord it did with me, why it would turn out to be one of the most important books in my life.
I stumbled upon an audiobook of lucky jim on youtube and thought id give it a go as it is often listed as one of the alltime great novels. Saturday night and sunday morning by alan sillitoe, room at the top by john braine, lucky jim by kingsley amis, look ba. Jims own name dixon sounds like dicks son contains a partial allusion to a previous young man from the provinces, dick whittington, who dreamed of going to london and succeeding. Oct 23, 1995 sir kingsley amis sir kingsley amis, who has died aged 73, established his reputation as one of the funniest english writers with his first novel, lucky jim 1954. As a central figure in the angry young man movement during the 1950s, amis utilizes comedy in the novel as a means for delivering his satiric attacks on the university community. Kingsley amis was part of a 1950s literary movement that was known as the angry young men, a group. It brought its author fame as one of britains angry young men of that era. Lucky jim, a novel about a lazy, angry, hangoverridden lecturer at a provincial college, almost instantly. British novelist and poet, who graduated with an ma from oxford. As a result of this novel, critics identified amis as a member of the angry young men, a british postwar working class literary movement. And he likes to be known as the angry young man billy joels official youtube channel features music videos, live performances, interviews, tv appearances and more. Lucky jim is a young mans book, in fact the book of two young men two extremely angry young men. Likewise, there are many more adaptations of these works on film and television.
Kingsley and hilary in the mid1950s with, from left. The angry young men were a group of mostly working and middleclass british playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. And dixon, like his creator, was no clown but a man of feeling after all. Following the success of the osborne play, the label angry young men was later applied by british media to describe young writers who were characterised by a disillusionment with traditional british. One of the angry young men writers of the 1950s, sillitoe is best known for his debut novel, the maverick social commentary saturday night and sunday morning, and the film adaptation of loneliness of the long distance runner. Regarded by many as the finest, and funniest, comic novel of the twentieth century, lucky jim remains as trenchant, withering, and eloquently misanthropic as when it first scandalized readers in 1954. The novel was still unfinished when amis was invited to spend the 195859 academic year in princeton. The angry young men how disaffected writers in the 1950s revolutionised british culture.
Kingsley amiss lucky jim is widely acknowledged as the quintessential campus novel of the twentieth century. Meet jim dixon, a young man struggling to keep his job in a 1950s english university. Sir kingsley amis sir kingsley amis, who has died aged 73, established his reputation as one of the funniest english writers with his first novel, lucky jim 1954. Sadly, the genre is so expansive that i simply cannot analyze all of them, but i highly recommend exploring these works. As david lodge sums up this cultural phenomenon, the angry young men. Picaresque structure and the angry young novel angela hague although john wains hurry on down 1953, kingsley amis lucky jim 1954, and iris murdochs under the net 1954 were all published several years before the cult of the angry young man appeared in great britain, the novels were retrospectivelyand erroneously. He is not very good at his job but bobs and weaves to keep it. College friends with similar backgrounds, they had graduated from both oxford and the second world war to find themselves in an england that was in terminal decline. Its hero, jim dixon, predates such angry young men as jimmy porter look back in anger, first performed 1956 and joe lampton room at the top, published 1957. Kingsley amis novel about redbrick university life turned into likeable but harmless knockabout farce by the boulting brothers. See a complete list of the characters in lucky jim and indepth analyses of jim dixon. The slightest of his first three books, i like it here is a nearautobiographical account, supplemented with a mystery plot, of the months he spent with his family in portugal, where he went reluctantly after lucky jim was awarded the somerset.
The 10 best british writers from the last 100 years. May 04, 2015 the novel was still unfinished when amis was invited to spend the 195859 academic year in princeton. The novel is fast moving and the characters develop well keeping you. Lucky jim is the story of james dixon a history lecturer at a quite a tall order for the poor authors i think, but i cant help it, so i generally avoid reading comic novels. In july 1957 british prime minister harold macmillan told fellow conservatives at a rally in bedford, england, that most of our people have never had it so good. Amis was regarded as the quintessential angry young man for his fashionable 1954 novel lucky jim. The angry young man movement and its influence on lucky jim. A visit to portugal resulted in the novel i like it here 1958, while observations garnered from a teaching stint in the united states were expressed in the novel one fat englishman 1963. A hilarious satire about college life and high class manners, this is a classic of postwar english literature. Lucky jim prompted critics to group amis with the angry young men, who expressed similar social discontent. Its interesting that so many of the novels on their list were campus novels.
Jimmy porter was a graduate reduced to keeping a candy stall in the market 1. Their impatience and resentment were especially aroused by what they perceived as the hypocrisy and mediocrity of the. But even in these colleges with plenty of working class and middle class students, amis saw stuffy british culture completely choking the energy out of everyday lifeespecially the life of a young man who might prefer glasses of beer to cups of tea. Oct 23, 1995 kingsley amis, novelist, is dead at 73. In lucky jim, the protagonist is a young man who is fighting to keep a job he dislikes by attempting to charm a professor he finds equally unpleasant. Jim dixon was a graduate who became a failed lecturer. When the royal court theatres press agent described the plays 26yearold author john osborne as an angry young man, the name was extended to all his contemporaries who expressed rage at the. Lucky jim is a seminal work, the first english novel featuring an ordinary man as antihero. Lucky jim is one of the first novels by award winning writer, kingsley amis. This is often billed as a comic novel but in truth there are really only half a dozen setpiece comedy scenes. The trend that was evident in john wains novel hurry on down 1953 and in lucky jim. This has been badged as one of the first of the angry young man genre.
The novel follows the exploits of the eponymous james jim dixon, a reluctant lecturer at an unnamed provincial english university. Amis certainly crafts the most brutally accurate description of a hangover ever written. Overview of the angry young men, british literary, dramatic, and film. At the university he has to do the bidding of absentminded and boring professor welch to have any hope of keeping his job. Other pieces in the genre, including this sporting life, hurry on down, and lucky jim. His relationships with women are difficult and he has running battles with his superior and the people who live in his lodgings. The angry young men may have been loud, crude and even obnoxious, but they gave literature a fresh impetus and they helped theatre regain its relevance to modern life. Lucky jim was among the first british campus novels, setting a precedent for later generations of writers such as malcolm bradbury, david lodge, tom sharpe and howard jacobson. It is thought to be derived from the autobiography of leslie paul, founder of the woodcraft folk, whose angry young man was published in 1951.
The groups leading figures included john osborne and kingsley amis. The film is an adaptation of kingsley amis classic novel and follows jim dixon, a young lecturer at a redbrick university. Lucky jim is a novel by kingsley amis that was first published in 1954. The generation of novelists, playwrights, directors, and filmmakers who became known as the angry young men couldnt have disagreed more. Jim may be the single bitterest character in all of english literature.
Lucky jim was a best seller, look back in anger roused strong emotions and the writers who followed amis and osborne made the literary establishment sit up and take notice. Before we get to why jim was so lucky, lets talk shop. It was amiss first novel and won the 1955 somerset maugham award for fiction. A writer bestowed with that most perfect of creative gifts zeitgeist sillitoe. Poor jim has to do everything he can to stay on the good side of his boss professor welch, a bumbling old man who invites jim to his house for a weekend of. Critics labelled this and similar works by osbornes contemporaries as being part of the angry young man generation, taking its name from the title of. As i read it, i am the young man on the bus, with no idea of the shape my life will have, hoping i can find. Jim often finds himself at the beck and call of professor welch who holds his fate in his hands as his year long contract is coming to an end. Where lucky jim had shaken up the novel, look back in anger shook. Kingsley amis was part of a 1950s literary movement that was known as the angry young men, a group of antiestablishment british writers who wrote biting satire about different aspects of british society. We have traveled far and must take more from the stage and the novel now than. Kingsley amis 19221995 was inspired to begin work on his first novel after visiting his friend philip larkin at leicester university in 1946 the lecturers world. Picaresque structure and the angry young novel jstor. Larkin gave amis detailed advice on his first novel, lucky jim, but amis did not ask for his help with a novel again.
Personal quotes 4 if you cant annoy somebody, theres little point in writing. The phrase was originally coined by the royal court theatres press officer in order to promote osbornes 1956 play look back in anger. Do you have a favorite angry young man novel or film. During his fight to keep his job, james dixon falls in love with the girlfriend of his professors son. Amis in general and lucky jim in particular are commonly associated with the angry young men of the british 1950s, a politicoliterary movement that was understood to embrace a political and artistic agenda. A penguin modern classic that was actually thoroughly enjoyable to read. In 1956, john osbornes play look back in anger filmed 1959 introduced a bold new voice into not just the theatre but english culture in general. He later dabbled in science fiction and was noted for his imaginative 1966 work the antideath league. As amiss first published novel, lucky jim set the tone for amiss lifelong. Published in 1954, lucky jim was amiss way of mocking englands redbrick universities, which were built in industrial towns just before world war i to help regular folks get an education. The situation of accidentprone, causticminded young lecturer jim dixon having problems with his girlfriend and his professor he was promptly annexed as an example of angry young man protest here lacks all sense of satire, not surprisingly give. Author kingsley amis was one of the supposed angry young men alongside john osborne, john wain and colin wilson. Definition of the angry young man in the idioms dictionary.
Amis was a cleareyed satirist best known for his comic novel lucky jim. His bestknown book, especially in the united states, remained his first novel, lucky jim viking. This is the story of jim dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a provincial university who knows better than most that there was no end to the ways in which nice. The rest of the novel is an attack on intellectual snobbery and highbrowism in classridden, postwar campus life. Journalists quickly classified amis as a member of the angry young men, a label that. I didnt know what to expect from lucky jim and really enjoyed it. Lucky jim 1954, by kingsley amis alltime 100 novels.
Hence, lucky jim is deployed in this thesis to discuss whether the angry young men movement actually was a suitable label. English literatures angry decade the british library. College friends with similar backgrounds, they had graduated from both oxford and the second world war to find themselves in an england that was. This new creature, soon to be labelled the angry young man, was an. Lucky jim is a novel by kingsley amis, first published in 1954 by victor gollancz. As a young man, kingsley amis was vocally stalinist, and a member of the communist. Angry young men, various british novelists and playwrights who emerged in the 1950s and expressed scorn and disaffection with the established sociopolitical order of their country. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Kingsley amis bestselling novel lucky jim, about a junior history professor at a redbrick university, was first published in 1954. Although amis novel reads as a comedy, the underlying implications of. Amis resented being called an angry young man, but his antihero jim dixon certainly railed.
At first i was afraid that i wouldnt be clever or british enough to enjoy it, but once i settled into the character of james dixon, i found myself liking the poor bastard and by extension his amazing adventures through the world of academia. The hero of that comic novel, jim dixon, not only showed no mercy. The characters of amiss subsequent novels are similar to jim dixon in temperament but grow increasingly meanspirited in their attitudes. Martin amis kingsley amis writing and writers books. Sillitoe disliked his angry young man tag, but its heritage is clear.
The novel won the somerset maugham award for fiction and amis was associated with the writers labelled angry young men. Poor jim has to do everything he can to stay on the good side of his boss professor welch, a bumbling old man who invites jim to his house for a weekend of music and art that jim finds incredibly boring. Worse, he has managed to get entangled with unexciting but neurotic margaret peel, a friend of the professors. The term angry young men was coined by the royal court theatres.
Amiss next novel, that uncertain feeling 1955, had a similar antihero. This is the story of jim dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a. His bestknown book, especially in the united states, remained his first novel, lucky jim viking penguin, a 1954 satire of academic life. Though best known for such social comedies as his first novel, lucky jim 1954, which won him the sobriquet angry young man a journalistic catchphrase of the 1950s, applied to several very different authors including colin wilson, he was also closely connected with sf throughout his professional life. Lucky jim questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on lucky jim. The novel follows the exploits of the eponymous james dixon, a reluctant lecturer at an unnamed provincial english univers. In the years after lucky jim, kingsley was labeled an angry young man, and his novels were discussed in terms of class as much as of style. Lucky jim first us edition authorkingsley amis cover artistedward gorey countryengland languageenglish publisherdoubleday victor gollancz publication date 1954 pages256 isbn0140186301 oclc30438025 lc class545356 lucky jim is a novel by kingsley amis, first published in 1954 by victor gollancz. Worse still, no one seemed to appreciate the young mens genius.