Originally published under the title
The Century's Daughter,
Liza's Englandfollows on from Pat Barker's first two novels,
Union Street(1982) and
Blow Your House Down(1984) in its concern with the lives of working-class women. This novel may be read as the unheard testimony of the twentieth-century English working class and, more particularly, of the women within it. Here, Barker moves beyond a romanticised vision of the working class and seeks instead a realist representation of twentieth-century England. She avoids a rosy nostalgic version of the past, but rather recovers and reclaims it through memory: “‘And you talk about the good old days', said Liza. ‘What was so good about them? Women wore out at thirty. And you can't deny they were, because you
know.' ‘I don't deny it.…
2447 words
Citation: Gildersleeve, Jessica. "Liza's England". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 September 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12907, accessed 19 December 2024.]
