The author analyzes the multi-layered and multidimensional theme of identity construction recurring in Tony Harrison's work from the seventies onwards looking at the way it evolved throughout the years. The book examines identity in the frame of the sociological and philosophical thoughts of such thinkers as Emmanuel Levinas and Zygmunt Bauman and in reference to the systematization proposed by Zbigniew Bokszanski: identity as a state or process, identity as a continuity or change, and identity as a consequence of conformity or revolt.

Agata Handley works as a lecturer and a researcher at the University of Lodz, Poland. The main areas of her academic interest are literature translation, British culture, and contemporary British poetry.