 First edition | |
| Author | C. P. Snow |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Strangers and Brothers |
| Publisher | Macmillan Publishers |
Publication date | 1954 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Masters |
| Followed by | Homecomings |
The New Men is the sixth novel in C. P. Snow's series Strangers and Brothers .
Lewis Eliot, his brother Martin, and Cambridge fellow, Walter Luke become involved with the scientific community and reaction to the development and deployment of nuclear weapons by Britain during the Second World War.
The story's main location is a fictional early British nuclear experimental establishment where the characters try to get an early nuclear pile going and also try to harvest enough enriched uranium or plutonium (they settle on going for plutonium) to try to beat the Americans to the bomb.
As Snow's science researchers, and science civil servant, characters are, or were, portrayed as Cambridge dons in this book (and the previous book in the series - The Masters ) he clearly did want to make the location of the research station the real UK nuclear Centre at Harwell (which was once known as the Atomic Energy Research Establishment ) with its close association with Oxford. So instead, as this line from the book puts it,: “For a site, they picked on a place called Barford –which I had not heard of, but found to be a village in Warwickshire, a few miles from Stratford-upon-Avon”.
Several commentators on the book claim, or suggest, that not only is the research station fictional but so is the village of Barford. In fact Barford is a real village in Warwickshire, and it is indeed not far from Stratford-upon-Avon. However, if the “final” version of the research station as described in the last chapter of the book was real it would certainly have more than dominated the actual real village of Barford.
The 1954 book review in Kirkus Reviews summarized; "For the thoughtful reader, the complex here of ideas and ideals, the duality of progress- towards destruction, forms an abstraction which is handled with intelligence." [1] In 1954 the novel was awarded (jointly with The Masters, the previous novel in the Strangers and Brothers sequence) the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction. [2]
It was adapted as a play for BBC Radio 4 as episode 6 of a series of adaptations of all CP Snow's Strangers and Brothers series. It was dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, with David Haig as Lewis Eliot, and Tim McInnerny playing Martin Eliot. It was first broadcast on 4 June 2003. [3]
Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government. He is best known for his series of novels known collectively as Strangers and Brothers, and for "The Two Cultures", a 1959 lecture in which he laments the gulf between scientists and "literary intellectuals".
Warwickshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcestershire and the West Midlands county to the west. The largest settlement is Nuneaton and the county town is Warwick.
Shirley is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Warwickshire, neighbouring districts include Shirley Heath, Sharmans Cross, Solihull Lodge, Monkspath, Cheswick Green, Cranmore and the Hall Green district of Birmingham.
The Light and the Dark is the fourth novel in C. P. Snow's Strangers and Brothers series. The book portrays narrator Lewis Eliot's friendship with Roy Calvert, and Calvert's inner turmoil and quest for meaning in life. Calvert was based on Snow's friend, Coptic scholar, Charles Allberry. Their relationship is developed further in The Masters.
Corridors of Power is the ninth book in C. P. Snow's Strangers and Brothers series. Its title had become a household phrase referring to the centres of government and power after Snow coined it in his earlier novel, Homecomings.
George Passant is the first published of C. P. Snow's series of novels Strangers and Brothers, but the second according to the internal chronology. It was first published under the name Strangers and Brothers. It was published in the United Kingdom in 1940 and in the U.S. in 1960.
Pamela Hansford Johnson, Baroness Snow, was an English novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic.
Wilmcote is a village, and since 2004 a separate civil parish, in the English county of Warwickshire, about 3 miles (5 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Prior to 2004, it was part of the same parish as Aston Cantlow, and the 2001 population for the whole area was 1,670, reducing to 1,229 at the 2011 Census.
Barford is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, about three miles south of Warwick. As at the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,171, that increased to 1,336 at the 2011 census. The Joint parish council also runs the villages of Sherbourne and Wasperton. In March 2014 "The Sunday Times" listed the village as one of the Top 10 places to live in The Midlands. In the village there are two pubs, a hotel with swimming pool, and a village shop owned and run by the community.
Tanworth-in-Arden is a village and civil parish in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is 12.5 miles (20 km) south-southeast of Birmingham, 5.5 miles (9 km) north-east of Redditch and 8 miles south-southwest of Solihull and is administered by Stratford-on-Avon District Council. Situated in the far west of the county and close to the Worcestershire border, the civil parish is larger than the village, and includes Tanworth-in-Arden itself plus the nearby settlements of Earlswood, Wood End, Forshaw Heath, Aspley Heath and Danzey Green. The population of the parish was 3,228 at the 2021 UK census.
Hatton is a village and civil parish about 4 miles (6 km) west-northwest of Warwick, in the Warwick District of Warwickshire in England. The parish had a population of 1,078 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 2,319 at the 2011 Census. Notable landmarks include Hatton Locks, a series of 21 locks on the Grand Union Canal. The flight spans less than 2 miles (3.2 km) of canal, and has a total rise of 45 metres (148 ft).
Wilmcote railway station serves the village of Wilmcote, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The station is run by West Midlands Trains. It is served by both West Midlands Railway and Chiltern Railways trains.
Hatton railway station takes the name of the village of Hatton in Warwickshire, England, although it is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the village. It is situated in the linear settlement of the same name, that evolved around the station, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. Other close settlements are Little Shrewley and Shrewley. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways.
Luddington is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire and is part of Stratford-on-Avon district. The community is a conservation area due to its historic aspects. In 2001, the population was 457, increasing to 515 at the 2021 census. It is located about 5 kilometres outside the town of Stratford-upon-Avon on the banks of the river Avon and has views south over the Cotswolds. Facilities and communications include a phone box, a 19th-century church, a post box, a marina with a 17th-century lock, a village green and a recently refurbished village hall originally built in 1953. The parish encompasses Dodwell Caravan Park to the north of the village. The village is reputed to be the meeting place of Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare, as Anne was from the parish, and local lore states that they probably conducted their courtship in the area.
Long Marston is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The southern and western boundaries of the parish form part of the county boundary with Worcestershire. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 436.
The Masters is the fifth novel in C. P. Snow's series Strangers and Brothers. It involves the election of a new Master at narrator Lewis Eliot's unnamed Cambridge College, which resembles Christ's College where Snow was a fellow. The 1951 novel's dedication is "In memory of G. H. Hardy", the Cambridge mathematician. It was the first of the Strangers and Brothers series to be published in the United States.
The Conscience of the Rich is the seventh published of C. P. Snow's series of novels Strangers and Brothers, but the third according to the internal chronology. It details the lives of Charles, Katherine and their father, Leonard March, a wealthy Jewish family. Lewis Eliot narrates the story of the conflicting politics of wealth and pre-World War II socialism in England.
Last Things is the eleventh and final installment of C. P. Snow's series of novels Strangers and Brothers.
The Affair is the eighth book in C. P. Snow's Strangers and Brothers series. The events return to the Cambridge college of The Masters. It is once again narrated by Lewis Eliot.
Charlecote is a small village and civil parish 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Warwick, on the River Avon, in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 194. The parish touches Wasperton, Newbold Pacey, Wellesbourne and Walton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Loxley and Hampton Lucy. Most of the village is a conservation area. The soil is rich loam and lies on gravel and sand.
 | This article about a political novel of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |
