Bringing together heritage studies and literary studies, this book examines heritage as a ubiquitous trope in contemporary Britain, a seemingly inescapable figure for relations to the past. It interrogates metaphoric resonances: that bestowing past, receiving present, and transmitted bounty are all singular and unified; that transmission between past and present is smooth, despite heritage depending on death; that the past enjoins the present to conserve its legacy into the future. Heritage as a trope is explored through core accounts of political theory; seminal documents within historic conservation; phenomenology and poststructuralism; film and TV; and a range of contemporary fiction.

Ryan Trimm is Associate Professor of English and Film Media at the University of Rhode Island, USA.

Chapter I. Introduction: "In a Wondrous Age"

Chapter II. Heritage's Patina: Troping Polity and Preservation

Chapter III. Heritage as Givenness: The Legacy of Phenomenology

Chapter IV. Icon and Image: Heritage as Postmodern Spectacle

Chapter V. Legacy Visions: The Image of Heritage Cinema in Brideshead Revisited, The Remains of the Day, and Downton Abbey

Chapter VI. Enterprising Heritage: Industry, Tourism, and Metaculture

Chapter VII. Fictions of Industry, Tales of Culture

Chapter VIII. From Heritage to Historic Environment: Diversity and Spatialized Inheritance in the New Labour Year

Chapter IX. Haunting the Environment: Roots and Specters in Smith, Mantel, and Oyeyemi

Chapter X. Conclusion