Search

The article discusses the monocle as a social symbol of modernity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The role that the monocle played in social identity, including of aristocrats, military officers, dandies, women and avant-gardists, is discussed. The relationship between modernist fashion and the wearing of the monocle, including as depicted in the main character of the short story "The Monocle," within the book "Two or Three Graces and Other Stories," by Aldous Huxley, is discussed.

The essay discusses the professionalization of novel-writing in Great Britain throughout the 1920s. Emphasis is given to the publishing of young British writers largely affected by the destruction of World War I. The author explains that young authors were published because post-war youth culture became largely synonymous with British national identity in this era. The importance of Alec Waugh's "The Loom of Youth," which dealt with Great Britain's public school system, to the increased popularity of young authors and literature dealing with youth is assessed.