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The Traveller's Search for Home: Stephen Graham and the Quest for London

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>1/07/2011
<mark>Journal</mark>The London Journal
Issue number3
Volume36
Number of pages14
Pages (from-to)211-224
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Stephen Graham is best known for the books that he wrote about his travels through Russia before 1914 and through North America and Europe during the interwar period. He was, from his youth, deeply concerned about the sense of deracination and tedium created by modern industrial and urban society. Graham nevertheless made his home in central London for more than sixty years. He wrote frequently about London, including numerous sketches describing his wanderings through its streets, as well as using the city as a backdrop to a number of his novels. London — like other major cities — was, for Graham, a place both of anomie and autonomy. His writings on London provide an insight into his own psychology, while his commercial success suggests that his characteristic concerns and interests struck a chord with a wide readership.