Critical theory and dystopia offers a uniquely rich study of dystopian fiction, drawing on the insights of critical theory. Asking what ideological work these dark imaginings perform, the book reconstructs the historical emergence, consolidation and transformation of the genre across the twentieth century and into our own, ranging from Yevgeny Zamayatin's We (1924) and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) to Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange (1963) and Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games series (2000s and 2010s). In doing so, it reveals the political logics opened up or neutered by the successive moments of this dystopian history.

Reviews

'McManus offers an excellent study of dystopia both historically and formally. With readings that span from E.M. Forster and George Orwell to Leni Zumas and Michel Houellebecq, the volume is an essential resource for both established and new scholars of the genre.'
Raffaella Baccolini, University of Bologna, Forlì Campus

'Patricia McManus brings a needed focus back to an investigation and assessment of the ideological function of dystopias as they have appeared throughout the 20th century. Her uncompromising critique balanced by her persistent hope for a better world informs her rigorous theoretical intervention and her astute close readings of writers from Orwell to Houellbecq.'
Tom Moylan, Professor Emeritus, Ralahine Centre for Utopian Studies, University of Limerick

Introduction
1 Negative commitment at work
2 Orwell and the classic dystopia
3 Dystopia and the past
4 Michel Houellebecq and the end of dystopia?
5 American dystopia
Index