Maps of Englishness - by Simon Gikandi (Paperback)

About the Book

Gikandi explores the politics of identity to analyze how the colonial experience inspired narrative forms that changed the nature of the English identity by surveying the British imperial tradition since the nineteenth century.

Book Synopsis

Gikandi explores the politics of identity to analyze how the colonial experience inspired narrative forms that changed the nature of the English identity by surveying the British imperial tradition since the nineteenth century. He provides detailed readings of the works of Trollope, Carlyle, and others; through the narratives of imperial women travelers such as Mary Kingsley and Mary Seacole; and through Africanist texts by Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene and postcolonialists such as Salman Rushdie and Joan Riley.

From the Back Cover

This book redefines the concept of Englishness, a term already full of contradictions, as it developed during Britain's colonial period. By surveying the British imperial tradition since the nineteenth century, Simon Gikandi explores the politics of identity in England and analyzes how the colonial experience inspired certain narrative forms that changed the nature of the English identity.

Review Quotes

Clarifies some of the fog surrounding postcoloniality. Working critically across the metropolitan-third world divide, "Maps of Englishness" enables relational readings between histories and cultures.

About the Author

Simon E. Gikandi is professor of English language and literature at the University of Michigan.