Colonial strangers : women writing the end of the British empire

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Colonial strangers : women writing the end of the British empire

Phyllis Lassner

Rutgers University Press, c2004

  • : hardcover
  • : pbk

Available at  / 10 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-235) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: hardcover ISBN 9780813534169

Description

This title aims to revolutionize modern British literary studies by showing how our interpretations of the postcolonial must confront World War II and the Holocaust. Lassner's analysis reveals how writers such as Muriel Spark, Olivia Manning, Rumer Godden, Phyllis Bottome, Elspeth Huxley and Zadie Smith insist that World War II is critical to understanding how and why the British Empire had to end. These authors revised modern fictional form by linking the end of the empire to the end of fascism. Drawing on memoirs, fiction, reportage and film adaptations, the book explores the critical perspectives of women who are passionately engaged with Britian's struggle to yield the last vestiges of imperial power. Lassner also examines how these writers correct prevailing stereotypes of British women as agents of imperialism by questioning their own participation in British claims of moral righteousness and British politics of cultural exploitation. The authors discussed take centre stage in debates about connections between the racist ideologies of the Third Reich and the British Empire.
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780813534176

Description

Colonial Strangers revolutionizes modern British literary studies by showing how our interpretations of the postcolonial must confront World War II and the Holocaust. Phyllis Lassner’s analysis reveals how writers such as Muriel Spark, Olivia Manning, Rumer Godden, Phyllis Bottome, Elspeth Huxley, and Zadie Smith insist that World War II is critical to understanding how and why the British Empire had to end.Drawing on memoirs, fiction, reportage, and film adaptations, Colonial Strangers explores the critical perspectives of writers who correct prevailing stereotypes of British women as agents of imperialism. They also question their own participation in British claims of moral righteousness and British politics of cultural exploitation. These authors take center stage in debates about connections between the racist ideologies of the Third Reich and the British Empire. Colonial Strangers reveals how the literary responses of key artists represent not only compelling reading, but also a necessary intervention in colonial and postcolonial debates and the canons of modern British fiction.

Table of Contents

Strangers at the Gates: the Middle East Part I. Olivia Manning: The Gates Besieged World War II Part II. Muriel Spark and Ethel Mannin: The Gates Breached and the Struggle for Postcolonial Identity Strangers in a Walled Garden: Rumer Godden's Anglo-India Red Strangers: Elspeth Huxley's Africa Island Strangers: Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Phyllis Bottome

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