War, Espionage, and Masculinity in British Fiction

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This work examines masculinities in British literature over more than a century, starting with Rudyard Kipling's 'The Light That Failed' (1891) and Erskine Childer's 'The Riddle of the Sands' (1903), which reflect pre-World War I ideals during the British Empire. R.C. Sherriff's play 'Journey's End' transports readers to World War I battlefields, highlighting the demands of duty and the psychological toll of warfare, including shellshock. The evolution of masculinity continues with Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey, a character grappling with his own trauma between the wars. In Graham Greene's works, 'The Heart of the Matter' (1948) and 'The Quiet American' (1955), masculinity is portrayed as uncertain, reflecting a post-war world where the Empire is in decline. Ian McEwan's 'The Innocent' (1990) delves into Cold War dynamics through a fictional British-American collaboration, examining the complexities of masculinity amid espionage. The theme persists in Ian Fleming's 'Casino Royale' (1953) and 'The Living Daylights' (1962), where masculinity appears confident against the backdrop of potential thawing relations. John le Carré's 'The Night Manager' (1993) extends the espionage narrative beyond the Cold War, while McEwan's 'Saturday' (2005) addresses personal responses to the events of 9/11.