Born in Captivity (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: John Wain
- First Published: 1953
- Type of Work: Comic realism
- Time of Work: The late 1940’s
- Setting: Various English towns and a Sussex country estate
- Principal Characters: Charles Lumley, George Hutchins, Edwin Froulish, Ern Ollershaw, Veronica “Roderick”
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire, Picaresque fiction
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Authors or writers, Social issues, 1940’s, Class consciousness, England or English people, Drug trafficking or dealing, Adventure, Jokes
- Locales: England
The Novel
Born in Captivity is a picaresque novel tracing the adventures of Charles Lumley as he searches for his place in postwar English society. Rejecting the upper-class possibilities which would come to someone with even a mediocre university degree, turning his back on the middle-class upward scrambling of his family, Lumley turns over his life to chance, making decisions only when he must flee from personal danger or from what he perceives as the traps of convention.
After graduation, Lumley has disappeared for a period of contemplation, but when he...
[The entire page is 1562 words long]
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