本书对二十世纪英美小说进行了全面梳理和系统介绍。本书分为上下两编，上编为二十世纪英国小说，下编为二十世纪美国小说。上下两编均包括三个部分：背景知识介绍、小说发展趋势、作品选读。选读部分包括作家生平与创作简介、选读作品简介、选文、作品分析评论。

本书可供高校英语专业英美文学史和文学作品选读的教学用书或参考书，也可供广大英语自学者和英美文学爱好者作为参考读物。

上编 英国部分

Section A English Fiction During the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Chapter 1 Social Background

1.1 Early twentieth century: partition of Ireland

1.2 The period between the two world wars : Great Depression

Chapter 2 Trends of Fiction

2.1 The fiction trends between 1900 - 1930

2.2 The fiction trends between 1930 - 1950

Chapter 3 Major Authors and Selected Readings

3.1 Joseph Conrad

3.2 Henry James

3.3 Virginia Woolf

3.4 D. H. Lawrence

3.5 James Joyce

3.6 E.M. Forster

3.7 H.G. Wells

3.8 Arnold Bennett

3.9 Wyndham Lewis

3.10 Evelyn Waugh

3.11 Christopher Isherwood

3.12 Graham Greene

Section B English Fiction During the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

Chapter 1 Social Background

1.1 From the end of World War II to the 1960s: rebuilding

1.2 From 1960s to 1980s: some troubles

1.3 Late twentieth century: growth of modem Britain

Chapter 2 Trends of Fiction: 1950 to the End of the Twentieth Century

2.1 The awareness of fictionality

2.2 Morality and art

2.3 Feminist writing 

2.4 Realism, satire, social comedy

2.5 Commonwealth writers

Chapter 3 Major Authors and Selected Readings

3.1 Samuiel Beekett

3.2 John Fowles

3.3 William Golding

3.4 Iris Murdoch

3.5 Doris Lessing

3.6 Angela Carter

3.7 John Wain

3.8 Kingsley Amis

3.9 Chinua Achebe

3.10 Patrick White

References

下编 美国部分

Section A American Fiction Before World War II

Chapter 1 Background Knowledge

1.1 The social background

1.2 The cultural background

Chapter 2 Trends of Fiction

2.1 Trends of fiction

2.2 Two "renaissance" 

Chapter 3 Major Authors and Selected Readings

3.1 Sherwood Anderson

3.2 Willa Cather

3.3 Jack London

3.4 Theodore Dreiser

3.5 F. Scott Fitzgerald 

3.6 Ernest Hemingway

3.7 William Fauikner

3.8 John Steinbeck

Section B American Fiction After World War II

Chapter 1 Social Background

1.1 The Cold War

1.2 Civil Rights Movement

1.3 Women's Lib

1.4 Counterculture

1.5 Generation X

1.6 The state of religious thought

1.7 Developing of science and technology

Chapter 2 Trends of Fiction

2.1 Fiction by different writing groups

2.1.1 Southern fiction

2.1.2 Women fiction

2.1.3 The Beat fiction

2.1.4 Jewish fiction

2.1.5 African American fiction 

2.1.6 Hispanic American fiction

2.1.7 Native American fiction

2.1.8 Asian American fiction

2.2 Trends of fiction

2.2.1 Fiction of manners--neo - realism

2.2.2 Postmodern fiction

2.2.3 Nonfiction Novel

2.2.4 War novel

2.2.5 Science fiction

2.2.6 Crime fiction

Chapter 3 Major Authors and Selected Readings

3.1 J.D. Salinger

3.2 San] Bellow

3.3 Ralph Ellison

3.4 Norman Mailer 

3.5 Jack Kerouac

3.6 Joseph Heller

3.7 Flannery O' Comaor

3.8 Joyee Carol Oates

3.9 Toni Morrison

3.10 Amy Tan 

3.11 Rudolfo Anaya

3.12 N. Seott Momaday

References