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Fantasy and the Politics of Subversion - (Perspectives on Fantasy) by Mayurika Chakravorty (Hardcover)
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- Focusing on a corpus of fantasy texts written in colonial India during the late 19th and early 20th century, this book explores the origins, motivations, nature, and role of fantasy and speculative writing during a period of tremendous social and political churning.Taking stock of Bengali texts often marginalized as children's literature or deemed unworthy of serious critical attention, Mayurika Chakravorty examines the works of authors such as Sanjibchandra Chattopadhyay, Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay, Parashuram (Rajshekhar Basu), Abanindranath Tagore, and Sukumar Ray to shed light on how their writing offered stringent commentaries on the colonial situation whilst grappling with larger questions around science, progress, environment, social hierarchies, ethics, and morality.With a focus on how key authors and their works-largely omitted from the established canon-were influenced by diverse cultural streams from European, Persian, classical Sanskrit, and local folk traditions, Fantasy and the Politics of Subversion explores how these texts challenged dominant tropes and conventions while subverting authority, both literary and political.In highlighting overlooked writing within Indian literary history, fantasy and children's literature studies, Chakravorty demonstrates that, in understanding these works in relation to one another, they provide evidence of compelling bodies of work produced in the context of, and in resistance to, the empire.
- About the Author: Mayurika Chakravorty is Assistant Professor in the Department of English and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies (Childhood and Youth Studies program), Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
- 248 Pages
- Literary Criticism, Science Fiction + Fantasy
- Series Name: Perspectives on Fantasy
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About the Book
A study of the origins, nature and role of fantasy literature in early 19th century colonial India, this book explores how speculative writing was produced in the context of, and in resistance to, empire.Book Synopsis
Focusing on a corpus of fantasy texts written in colonial India during the late 19th and early 20th century, this book explores the origins, motivations, nature, and role of fantasy and speculative writing during a period of tremendous social and political churning.
Taking stock of Bengali texts often marginalized as children's literature or deemed unworthy of serious critical attention, Mayurika Chakravorty examines the works of authors such as Sanjibchandra Chattopadhyay, Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay, Parashuram (Rajshekhar Basu), Abanindranath Tagore, and Sukumar Ray to shed light on how their writing offered stringent commentaries on the colonial situation whilst grappling with larger questions around science, progress, environment, social hierarchies, ethics, and morality.
With a focus on how key authors and their works-largely omitted from the established canon-were influenced by diverse cultural streams from European, Persian, classical Sanskrit, and local folk traditions, Fantasy and the Politics of Subversion explores how these texts challenged dominant tropes and conventions while subverting authority, both literary and political.
In highlighting overlooked writing within Indian literary history, fantasy and children's literature studies, Chakravorty demonstrates that, in understanding these works in relation to one another, they provide evidence of compelling bodies of work produced in the context of, and in resistance to, the empire.
About the Author
Mayurika Chakravorty is Assistant Professor in the Department of English and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies (Childhood and Youth Studies program), Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. She was a Felix doctoral scholar and holds a Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. She was a visiting scholar at the Centre for Research in Children's Literature at Cambridge for the Easter Term, 2024. She researches and writes on fantasy and speculative literature; children's literature; and the representation of childhood and girlhood in literature and media.Shipping details
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