A ruthless satire of academic life, The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury is a witty campus novel and one of the most influential books of the 1970s.

With an introduction by James Naughtie.

Take a Valium. Have a party. Go on a demo. Shoot a soldier. Make a bang. Bed a friend. That's your problem-solving system . . . But haven't we tried all that?

Howard Kirk, product of the Swinging Sixties, radical university lecturer, and one half of a very modern marriage, is throwing a party. The night will have all sorts of repercussions: for Henry Beamish, Howard's desperate and easily neglected friend, and for Howard's wife, promiscuous '70s liberal and exhausted victim of motherhood.

Funny, disconcerting and provocative, Bradbury's classic novel brilliantly satirizes a world of academic power struggles as his anti-hero seduces his away around campus. But is also reveals a marriage in crisis and demonstrates the fragility of the human heart.

`The funniest and best-written novel I have seen for a very long time' Auberon Waugh

About the Author
Malcolm Bradbury was a well-known novelist, critic and academic, and founder of the creative writing department at the University of East Anglia. He was the author of seven novels, including The History Man and Rates of Exchange, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He was awarded a knighthood in 2000 and died later the same year.

Reviews
The funniest and best-written novel I have seen for a very long time -- Auberon Waugh
Grim wit, chill comedy and a fictional energy which is as imaginative as the tale is shocking -- A. S. Byatt
Malcolm Bradbury has come up with a novel that simply must be read -- Elizabeth Berridge * Daily Telegraph *
Extremely witty . . . Bradbury writes brilliantly * New York Times *
Very funny . . . a quite ruthless satire * Evening Standard *
Exhilarating . . . A book which captures for all time the spirit of an age -- Margaret Drabble



Book Information
ISBN 9781509823390
Author Malcolm Bradbury
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Picador
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 190g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 131mm * 18mm