The author of only four novels so far, Alan Hollinghurst nevertheless ranks as one of Britain's premier writers of fiction. He owes this status to a combination of stylistic qualities and thematic interests as well as to the socio-cultural context within which his work has emerged. Hollinghurst's mastery of style – a mixture of lyricism, wit and pitch-perfect dialogue – is undisputed and many fellow writers have expressed great admiration for it. His thematic interests, by contrast, have been more contested. Although his novels present us with richly developed portraits of the ways in which sexuality, class, race, art and history enter into complex interrelationships, and although they excel at psychological depth and social satire, they do so while focussing almost exclusively on the…

3484 words

Citation: Eeckhout, Bart. "Alan Hollinghurst". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 November 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2180, accessed 21 November 2024.]

2180 Alan Hollinghurst 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.