Angela Carter’s ‘Provincial Bohemia’ by Steven E. Hunt

Socialist and feminist novelist Angela Carter is one of the most acclaimed late-

twentieth-century English writers, famous for short-story collections such as

The

Bloody Chamber

and novels including

Nights at the Circus

and

Wise Children

.

Angela Carter’s ‘Provincial Bohemia

’

takes Carter’s life and work in Bristol (1961-

1969) and Bath (1973-1976) as a starting point to explore the artistic, radical and

experimental communities that flourished at that time. Newly recorded interviews and

other primary sources reveal the experiences that may have shaped Carter’s outlook

during her formative years as a writer.

Along the way, Stephen E. Hunt looks at the character and impact of the West

Country’s counterculture: a journey that takes us through the folk and rock scene,

CND and the Vietnam war, the 1968 student occupations, radical media, the

women’s liberation movement, the Bath Arts Workshop, performance art, community

technology and more.

There are even a couple of Angela Carter jokes…