This volume covers the wide-ranging historical, social, and cultural developments since the end of World War II. From the austerity of the immediate post-war years to the consumerism and globalization of the present day, Post-War Literature chronicles the impact of decolonization, mass popular culture, women's liberation, postmodernism, and privatization. The works of George Orwell, Samuel Beckett, Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Tom Stoppard, Salman Rushdie, and others have explored this period in varied and fascinating ways.