Raven portrays a stratum of society that is deeply threatened both by its own desires and follies and by social and political change: his novels aim to dramatize key aspects of the history of postwar England such as the loss of empire, the fiasco of Suez, the recognition of military and economic subordination to the United States, the election of Labour governments in 1945, 1964, and 1966, the growth of student protest in the later 1960s, and the increasing importance of the media, especially television.
To an extent Raven's work might be seen as elegiac, the portrayal of what he himself called an ancien régime, and one that might seem destined for oblivion. Raven's fiction could also appear to demonstrate, however, the resilience and adaptability of that ancien régime, its capacity to make concessions in order to retain its influence and power. His fiction is marked by a tension between nostalgia and energy, between lamenting a world that seems to be dying and registering its ability to renew itself. Raven's portrayal of this world is extremely skillful; his best work combines lucid, witty narrative prose, strong dialogue, and complex, compelling plots.
Simon Arthur Noel Raven was born 28 December 1927, the son of Arthur Godart Raven and Esther Kate Raven (née Christmas).
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