AGA saga
Encyclopedia
The Aga Saga is a sub-genre of the family saga
of literature. The genre is named for the AGA cooker
, a type of stored-heat oven that came to be popular in medium to large country houses in the UK
after its introduction in 1929. It refers primarily to fictional family sagas dealing with British "middle-class country or village life".Aga Saga, Oxford Companion to English Literature. Hosted at enotes.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. The nickname "Aga Saga" is sometimes used condescendingly about this type of fiction. The term was incorporated into the Oxford Companion to English Literature in 2000.
in the countryside" according to a 2007 article in The Observer
. In setting, according to an earlier article in that paper, it offers a "gingham
-checked world" associated with "thatched English villages" and "ladies in floral dresses". Guardian
book critic Laura Wilson described an Aga Saga setting as "complete with sprawling, untidy farmhouse (flagstone
s, dogs, Wellington boots, and much nursing of mugs of coffee)".
, in a 2004 article, characterized the genre as the "older sister of the sex 'n' shopping romances". According to a critical analysis in The Independent
, the genre rose to prominence in the 1990s not as a continuance of the celebration of "sex and shopping [that] reflected the materialism of the 1980s", but as a signal of "disillusionment with those values". Guardian Arts and Heritage correspondent Maev Kennedy described the genre poetically as encapsulating "the nostalgic yearning for an Arcadian idyll".
to describe specifically the work of Joanna Trollope
, which not only inspired the label but popularized the type of literature typically so labeled. Trollope indicated in 2003 that "[t]he name itself indicates a provincial
cosiness, and is patronising of the readers. A lot of what I write into the books is bleak and challenging but I will be the Queen of the Aga saga to my dying day. It's jolly annoying, but it is better than being the Queen of Hearts". In 2003 The Guardian reported that Blacker had expressed both his respect for the author and his remorse for contributing the label, indicating that it was applied "early in her career and these tags are rather distorting and unfair", but Blacker later indicated in The Independent that "[a]lthough it must be bloody annoying for a writer to have her work reduced to a flip phrase, I have only used it once and in a perfectly respectable context. What happened to the term after that is no more my responsibility than it would be Trollope's if her jokey reference to a certain kind of serious fiction as "grim lit" took hold". In 2005, Trollope indicated that she was "fairly tired of such an inaccurate and patronising tag". In the "Aga Saga" entry, Oxford Companion to English Literature exemplifies the genre by the work of Trollope, but notes that "by no means all her work fits the generally comforting implications of the label".Aga Saga, Oxford Companion to English Literature. Hosted at enotes.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-29.
Family saga
The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time...
of literature. The genre is named for the AGA cooker
AGA cooker
The AGA cooker is a stored-heat stove and cooker invented in 1929 by the Nobel Prize-winning Swedish physicist Gustaf Dalén , who was employed first as the chief engineer of the Swedish AGA company...
, a type of stored-heat oven that came to be popular in medium to large country houses in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
after its introduction in 1929. It refers primarily to fictional family sagas dealing with British "middle-class country or village life".Aga Saga, Oxford Companion to English Literature. Hosted at enotes.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. The nickname "Aga Saga" is sometimes used condescendingly about this type of fiction. The term was incorporated into the Oxford Companion to English Literature in 2000.
Characteristics
While the label has been applied to settings within other genres, it is typically interpreted to refer to "a tale of illicit rumpy-pumpySexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
in the countryside" according to a 2007 article in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
. In setting, according to an earlier article in that paper, it offers a "gingham
Gingham
Gingham is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarn.The name originates from an adjective in the Malay language, genggang , meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch...
-checked world" associated with "thatched English villages" and "ladies in floral dresses". Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
book critic Laura Wilson described an Aga Saga setting as "complete with sprawling, untidy farmhouse (flagstone
Flagstone
Flagstone, is a generic flat stone, usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other constructions. The name derives from Middle English flagge meaning turf, perhaps from Old Norse flaga meaning slab.Flagstone is a...
s, dogs, Wellington boots, and much nursing of mugs of coffee)".
Critical analyses
The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, in a 2004 article, characterized the genre as the "older sister of the sex 'n' shopping romances". According to a critical analysis in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, the genre rose to prominence in the 1990s not as a continuance of the celebration of "sex and shopping [that] reflected the materialism of the 1980s", but as a signal of "disillusionment with those values". Guardian Arts and Heritage correspondent Maev Kennedy described the genre poetically as encapsulating "the nostalgic yearning for an Arcadian idyll".
Origin
The term was coined in 1992 by novelist Terence BlackerTerence Blacker
Terence Blacker is an English author, columnist, journalist, and publisher. He is the son of General Sir Cecil Hugh Blacker, and the brother of sculptor Philip Blacker....
to describe specifically the work of Joanna Trollope
Joanna Trollope
Joanna Trollope OBE , is an English novelist.-Life:Joanna Trollope was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office...
, which not only inspired the label but popularized the type of literature typically so labeled. Trollope indicated in 2003 that "[t]he name itself indicates a provincial
Provincial
Provincial may refer to:* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country.* Provincial examinations, a school-leaving exam in British Columbia, Canada* A provincial superior of a religious order...
cosiness, and is patronising of the readers. A lot of what I write into the books is bleak and challenging but I will be the Queen of the Aga saga to my dying day. It's jolly annoying, but it is better than being the Queen of Hearts". In 2003 The Guardian reported that Blacker had expressed both his respect for the author and his remorse for contributing the label, indicating that it was applied "early in her career and these tags are rather distorting and unfair", but Blacker later indicated in The Independent that "[a]lthough it must be bloody annoying for a writer to have her work reduced to a flip phrase, I have only used it once and in a perfectly respectable context. What happened to the term after that is no more my responsibility than it would be Trollope's if her jokey reference to a certain kind of serious fiction as "grim lit" took hold". In 2005, Trollope indicated that she was "fairly tired of such an inaccurate and patronising tag". In the "Aga Saga" entry, Oxford Companion to English Literature exemplifies the genre by the work of Trollope, but notes that "by no means all her work fits the generally comforting implications of the label".Aga Saga, Oxford Companion to English Literature. Hosted at enotes.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-29.
Further reading
- Janine Liladhar. "From the soap queen to the aga-saga: Different discursive frameworks of familial femininity in contemporary 'women's genres'. " Journal of Gender StudiesJournal of Gender StudiesThe Journal of Gender Studies is a leading British peer-reviewed scientific journal for interdisciplinary gender studies, published by Routledge. It has been published since 1991, and publishes articles relating to gender from a feminist perspective covering a wide range of disciplines....
9.1 (2000): 5-12. Platinum Periodicals. ProQuest. 3 February 2008