Understanding Alan Sillitoe

Understanding Alan Sillitoe offers an appraisal of the life and works of the contemporary British writer recognized by critics as the literary descendent of D. H. Lawrence. Known primarily for his novels Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, Sillitoe has written more than fifty books over the last forty years, including novels, plays, and collections of short stories, poems, and travel pieces, as well as more than four hundred essays.

In this comprehensive study of the major novels and short stories, Hanson reveals the influences on Sillitoe and the dominant thematic concerns of his works.