Acknowledgements; Introduction: The Spatial Imaginary of Contemporary British Fiction; 1. Landscape and Narrative Aesthetics; 2. New Horizons for the Regional Novel; 3. Urban Visionaries; 4. Cartographers of Memory; 5. Island Encounters; 6. Epilogue: 'Because Time Is Not like Space'; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

"The importance of setting to evoke emotions has long been a secret the best writers know. James explains it for the rest of us." -Book news, February 2009 Mention -Chronicle of higher education, March 6, 2009 "This study will prove valuable to students and scholars of the authors discussed, and of the contemporary British novel in general. Furthermore, as an examination of how space is conceptualized and depicted, its significance extends across disciplinary boundaries in the humanities and social sciences. James suggests in his conclusion that 'Particularizing something as ephemeral and abstract as literary space provokes us to reflect on current critical pursuits.' James's own valuable reflections on this subject run through his fascinating study, which offers a perceptive map of contemporary concerns in the field of literary studies at the same time as it helps to open up a new landscape for critical exploration." -Paul Vlitos, Modern Language Review, April 2010 'This is a highly intelligent work that establishes and engages with a very important and productive area of study. It is one of a surprisingly small number of sustained and theoretically informed critical studies of space and place in contemporary British fiction' -The Review of English Studies, 2010 Paul Smethurst Briefly reviewed in the Year's work in English Studies journal, vol 89, No. 1 'The illuminating extended analysis of such individual practitioners of the novelistic art include J.G. Ballard, lain Sinclair, Caryl Phillips, Pat Barker, Adam Thorpe, Trezza Azzopardi and A.L. Kennedy'