To capture the spirit of postwar Britain, in 2010 Penguin published a series of twenty novels, five for each of the decades from the 1950s to the 1980s. A different artist was commissioned to design the covers for each decade, and they were chosen for their relevance to that period.

Penguin Decades bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. When they were published, some were bestsellers, some were considered scandalous, and others were simply misunderstood. All represent their time and helped define their generation, while today each is considered a landmark work of storytelling. – Penguin blurb

 

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The 1950s

Kingsley Amis’s novel Lucky Jim was published in 1954, and is a satire of British university life. It is one of the most famous and influential of all British postwar novels.

Since the 1950s the artist Peter Blake was one of the leading figures of the British Pop Art movement. He used artefacts of popular culture both old and new along with collage and painting. His most famous work is the cover for the 1967 Beatles album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but he is much more than that.

 

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The 1960s

Margaret Drabble’s prize-winning novel The Millstone was published in 1965. “Set in a London not yet quite swinging, where sexual liberation is still on its way, follows Rosamund Stacey who becomes pregnant and must adapt to life as a single mother”.

Born in 1937 Allen Jones was one of Britain’s leading 1960s Pop Artists, along with David Hockney and others. His lush, colourful paintings are known for sometimes including erotic imagery.

 

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The 1970s

Susan Hill’s spellbinding 1970 novel I’m the King of the Castle is a chilling portrayal of childhood cruelty and persecution.

Zandra Rhodes is a fashion and textile designer, and artist. Her highly original hand-printed chiffon dresses and Punk clothing helped put London on the forefront of 1970s fashion.

 

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The 1980s

Peter Ackroyd’s 1985 novel Hawksmoor is a tale of darkness and shadow. It alternates between the 18th century and the 1980s when London detective Nicholas Hawksmoor investigates a series of gruesome murders.

John Squire is a leading rock musician, guitarist for the Stone Roses. In the early 2000s he turned to painting and became a prominent abstract artist.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

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