Explores the substance and significance of J G Farrell's "The Empire Trilogy" (1970-1978), one of the major achievements of post-war fiction. This study assesses its critique of British colonial rule. It shows how his novels attempt to satirize the perspectives of those who served the Empire and were caught up in its decline.

J.G. Farrell's "The Empire Trilogy" (1970-1978) was one of the major achievements of post-war fiction and inspired a new generation of writers keen to explore the legacy of Empire and the emerging postcolonial spaces created in its wake. This new, invigorating and accessible study excitingly explores the substance and significance of "The Empire Trilogy" and assesses its damning and influential critique of British colonial rule. Rather than positioning him at the end of a tradition of nostalgic Empire writing, John McLeod shows how Farrell's novels attempt to satirize the perspectives of those who served the Empire and were caught up in its decline. McLeod also explores Farrell's intriguing early fiction, as well as his unfinished posthumously-published novel, and accounts for his changing critical legacy since his premature death in 1980, aged 44. This insightful study will stimulate both new and established readers of a much-loved and much-missed novelist.