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The perception of English national identity underwent notable changes towards the end of the 20th century. Since the mid-1990s, a changing zeitgeist and the political and cultural developments in England and Britain have led to a redefinition of national self-images. The turn of the millennium can be seen to mark the heyday of a "rebranded" version of Englishness. Literature negotiates different versions and aspects of national identity. Contemporary novels take up existing cultural plots and schemata and creatively rewrite them. The three selected novels exemplify different ways in which contemporary literature challenges Englishness: How to be Good (Nick Hornby, 2001) questions middle-class identity, White Teeth (Zadie Smith, 2000) sheds light on Englishness in postcolonial London and England, England (Julian Barnes, 1998) self-reflexively examines contemporary rebranding processes. These three texts are considered in relation to fourteen additional novels from around 1990 to 2010. In line with the New Historicist approach, the novels are seen as parts of their contemporary cultural contexts, rather than as isolated entities. At the same time, this approach allows for a close reading of the novels according to narratological categories. It permits us to understand the narratives as part of the discourse on Englishness that influences later discourses. Literature can thus contribute to the redefinition and rebranding of Englishness by offering various versions of identity construction. The narrative strategies employed in the novels that contribute to the rewriting and challenging of Englishness can be organised into three main areas: first, the employment of generic, stylistic and formal features; second, techniques of narrative transmission and focalisation, and third, semantisation of space. Through these narrative techniques, the novels negotiate a number of cultural concepts and aspects – including cultural memory, history, invented traditions and self-images. In particular, they question the making ...
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