Imagining London
Subtitle: postcolonial fiction and the transnational metropolis
By: John Clement Ball.
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Toronto; Buffalo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 295
Subjects: English fiction -- England -- London -- History and criticism; Authors, Commonwealth -- Homes and haunts -- England -- London; Authors, English -- Homes and haunts -- England -- London; English fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism; Commonwealth fiction (English) -- History and criticism; Immigrants' writings, English -- History and criticism; Immigrants -- England -- London -- Intellectual life; Postcolonialism -- England -- London; City and town life in literature; Postcolonialism in literature; Immigrants in literature; London (England) -- Intellectual life -- 20th century; London (England) -- In literature
Description: "London was once the hub of an empire on which 'the sun never set.' After the Second World War, as Britain withdrew from most of its colonies, the city that once possessed the world began to contain a diasporic world that was increasingly taking possession of it. Drawing on postcolonial theories, as well as interdisciplinary perspectives from cultural geography, urban theory, history, and sociology, Imagining London examines representations of the English metropolis in Canadian, West Indian, Indian, and second generation 'black British' novels written in the last half of the twentieth century. It analyses the diverse ways in which London is experienced and portrayed as a transnational space by Commonwealth expatriates and migrants." "As the former 'heart of empire' and a contemporary 'world city,' London metonymically represents the British Empire in two distinct ways. In the early years of decolonization, it was a primarily white city that symbolized imperial power and history. Over time, as migrants from former colonies have 'reinvaded the centre' and changed its demographic and cultural constitution, it has come to represent empire as a global microcosm and profoundly relational locale. John Clement Ball examines the work of more than twenty writers, including established authors such as Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler, Jean Rhys, Sam Selvon, V.S. Naipaul, Anita Desai, and Salman Rushdie, and newer voices such as Catherine Bush, David Dabydeen, Amitav Ghosh, Hanit Kureishi, and Zadie Smith."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [267]-282) and index.