Literary Significance and Criticism
Hollinghurst wrote part of the novel in Yaddo.
The book won the 2004 Booker Prize.
Hollinghurst has received praise for his portrayal of life among the privileged governing classes during the early to middle 1980s.
The novel has been compared to Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, with special regard to Powell's character Nicholas Jenkins. The protagonist has also been likened to Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Margaret Thatcher's appearance has been compared to that of Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness; Sir Maurice Tipper and his wife have been compared to Evelyn Waugh characters.
Read more about this topic: The Line Of Beauty
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