Melvyn Bragg Criticism
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Victoria Glendinning
(summary)
In the following essay, Victoria Glendinning argues that Melvyn Bragg's novel The Silken Net is a traditional English novel comparable to the works of Hardy, Lawrence, and Bennett, though it occasionally suffers from linguistic clumsiness and could benefit from more rigorous editing.
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John Mellors
(summary)
The critic argues that Melvyn Bragg's novels, eschewing modern experimental techniques, align more with traditional 19th-century narratives, focusing on rural settings and familial conflicts, and praises his latest work, The Silken Net, for successfully capturing both character and place.
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Pilgrim's Progress in Wigton
(summary)
In the following essay, Clancy Sigal critiques Melvyn Bragg's Speak for England for its overly idealized portrayal of a Cumbrian town, arguing that Bragg's omission of local eccentrics weakens its authenticity while acknowledging the work's contribution to an otherwise overlooked "people's history."