The Good Terrorist (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Doris Lessing
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The 1980’s
- Setting: London
- Principal Characters: Alice Mellings, Jasper, Philip, Jim, Monica, Faye, Dorothy Mellings, Cedric Mellings, Mary, Reggie, Bert, Pat, Roberta,
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Social action, 1970’s, Class conflict, Communism or communists, Politics, Revolutionaries, Homosexuality or homosexuals, Suicide, Crime or criminals, Murder or homicide, Revolutions, Protests or demonstrations, Emotions, Violence, Women’s issues, Working class, London, Conformity, Bombs, Terrorism or terrorists, Homemakers
- Locales: London, England
Form and Content
The Good Terrorist depicts a group of disturbed middle-class young people who use radical politics as an outlet for their feelings of rage and deprivation. They are portrayed as politically irresponsible and personally reprehensible. The story is centered on Alice Mellings, the “good terrorist” of the title, an unsettling combination of maternal solicitude and destructive anger. She and her feckless companion Jasper move back to 43 Old Mill Road, one of the many abandoned houses in a poor section of London. Thirty-six-years old and still living the...
[The entire page is 2043 words long]
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