Paul March-Russell on cities to explore from your sofa

Paul March-Russell

Dr Paul March-Russell, Lecturer in the Department of Comparative Literature, has contributed an article titled ‘A different kind of mini break: imagined cities to explore from your sofa’ for The Conversation website.

In the wake of the global pandemic, Paul’s article explores imagined cities that you can roam from the comfort of your own sofa, ranging from a future London in William Morris’ 1890 novel News from Nowhere, to the contemporary Dickensian dystopia China Miéville’s ‘New Crobuzon’ series, to the rich fantasy world of Novigrad in Andrzej Sapkowski’s ‘The Witcher’ series.

Paul says: “I’m fascinated by cities because their development is linked so closely to modernity, both in economic history and in the arts. Urban fantasy, such as that by M John Harrison and China Miéville, draws upon this relationship but also estranges it – making us see the city anew.”

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