This concise Companion offers an innovative approach to understanding the Modernist literary mind in Britain, focusing on the intellectual and cultural contexts which shaped it.

The book consists of twelve chapters written by leading scholars, each spotlighting ideas emanating from a particular field which helped to shape Modernism, including eugenics, primitivism, Freudianism, and Nietzscheanism. Each contributor deals with his or her topic in some depth, but also pays attention to the impact it had on overarching issues. At the same time, the contributors identify contemporary developments in other disciplines, especially art, architecture, music, film, and philosophy, which paralleled developments in poetry, fiction, and drama. Each chapter concludes with a brief guide to further reading.Through reading this Companion, students will gain an understanding of Modernism as a historical and cultural phenomenon, as well as a literary movement.