Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-178) and index.
Contents:
Part I. Humanism and culture -- Part II. Three Christian humanists: G. K. Chesterton; T.S. Eliot; J.R.R. Tolkien -- Part III. Gnostic aestheticism: antihumanism in Beckett and others; artificial taste -- Part IV. The radical middle: Enter reason and nature; An imperfect theory; The canon and literary form; The romance of history.
Summary:
"Oser examines the twentieth-century literary clash between a dogmatically relativist modernism and a robust revival of Christian humanism. Reviewing English literature from Chaucer to Beckett, and the thoughts of philosophers, theologians, and modern literary critics, Oser challenges the assumption that Christian orthodoxy is incompatible with humanism, freedom, and democracy"--Provided by publisher.
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