No Laughing Matter (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Angus Wilson
- First Published: 1967
- Type of Work: Modernism
- Time of Work: From 1912 to 1967
- Setting: England, France, the Soviet Union, Morocco, Egypt, and Portugal
- Principal Characters: Quentin Matthews, Gladys Matthews Murkins, Rupert Matthews, Susan (Sukey) Matthews Pascoe, Margaret Matthews Rootham, Marcus Matthews, William (Billy Pop) Matthews, Clara (the Countess) Matthews
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Culture, History, 1960’s, Family or family life, Africa or Africans, Communism or communists, Politics, France or French people, Nineteenth century, Art or artists, World War II, Depression, economic, England or English people, Good and evil, World War I, Youth, Egypt or Egyptians, Soviet Union or Soviets, Fascism, Portugal or Portuguese people
- Locales: Soviet Union, England, Egypt, Portugal, Morocco
The Novel
Much of the history of the twentieth century is seen through the eyes of the Matthews family in No Laughing Matter: the Great War, the Depression, the rise of European Fascism, the promise of Soviet Communism for leftists and their ultimate disillusionment because of the purges under Joseph Stalin, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the Suez crisis, and the youth culture of the 1960’s. The lives of the three sons and three daughters of William and Clara Matthews are affected in differing ways by the political and social events of their times, but the major...
[The entire page is 2445 words long]
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