Old Themes and Self-Reflection in Jenkins’s Later Novels

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Robin Jenkins considers and questions his own achievements and the role of the artist in the novels Poverty Castle (1991), Willie Hogg (1993), Poor Angus (2000) and Childish Things (2001). In Leila (1995) Jenkins reworks old themes and plot elements. This later text can partly be seen as a ‘rewriting’ of the earlier A Figure of Fun (1974). This essay details how Jenkins’s writing becomes increasingly self-reflective during the last decade of his writing career. Some texts can be seen as partly autobiographical in the way they present characters’ attributes and experiences that are comparable with elements of Jenkins’s own life experience and opinions, as well as narrative details which refer directly to Jenkins himself and his circumstances. As a result, all the narratives in question arguably reflect Jenkins’s need to re-examine and reflect back on his central fictional concerns, his literary achievement, and the role of the artist in Scotland.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Fiction of Robin Jenkins
Subtitle of host publicationSome Kind of Grace
PublisherBrill Academic Publishers
Pages238-251
Number of pages14
Volume26
ISBN (Electronic)9789004337046
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Publication series

NameSCROLL: Scottish Cultural Review of Language and Literature
Volume26

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright: © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017.

Other keywords

  • Robin Jenkins
  • author achievement
  • metafiction
  • old themes
  • rewritings
  • role of the artist
  • self-reflection
  • semi-autobiography

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