An entertaining history of literary life Nicholas Shakespeare,Daily Telegraph

Spanning a century of literary history, from the pitched battles fought between Eliot-era modernists and Georgian traditionalists to the impact of creative writing degrees and the media don of today and taking in star reviewers, sniping critics, caballing editors and megalomaniac professors along the way,The Prose Factoryexplores the myriad influences on English literary life in the past century and the way in which they have shaped our preferences.

An amazing achievement David Lodge A pleasingly gossipy history of literary life in England since 1918very enjoyableObserver Elegantly written, defiantly intelligent, scrupulously researched and richly enjoyableMail on Sunday

D.J. Taylor wrote his first paid book review forThe Spectator the week after he came down from university. Over the course of the next three decades he has produced enough literary journalism to carpet Lords cricket ground. In the intervals between writing about books for theGuardian,Independent,Times Literary Supplement,Literary Review,Prospect,Wall Street JournalandPrivate Eyehe has written 11 novels and several works of non-fiction, includingAfter The War: The Novel and England Since 1945andOrwell: The Life, which won the Whitbread Prize for Biography. His most recent books are a novel,The Windsor Faction, joint winner of the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and a collection of short stories,Wrote for Luck. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in Norwich with his wife, the novelist Rachel Hore, and their three sons.