The Life of Kingsley Amis

"Kingsley Amis - novelist, poet, critic and polemicist - was at the heart of literary culture in post-war Britain. At his death Time magazine claimed that 'the British decades between 1955 and 1995 should in fairness be called "the Amis era"'. In this eagerly awaited authorised biography, Zachary Leader gives an intimate portrait of a man who was, he argues, not only the finest comic novelist of his generation, but a dominant force in the writing of the period. Drawing on a full range of Amis's writings, including archival material and unpublished works, interviews with friends, relatives and fellow writers, many of them never before consulted, and hundreds of previously unpublished letters, Leader's biography gives a full picture of Amis's childhood, school days, life as a teacher, critic, political and cultural commentator, professional author, husband, father and lover. Leader also explores Amis's fears and phobias, and the role that drink played in his life. In the process, he illuminates the age in which Amis lived, one which transformed Britain and the world, bringing, among other upheavals, the sexual revolution, the women's movement, gay liberation, the demise of communism and the rise of Europe. On all of these issues Amis spoke out forcefully.