This anthology offers a balanced approach to colonial and postcolonial literature through a rich tapestry of
short stories by both British colonizers and affected indigenous people. Organized by region, the compelling stories
reflect the evolution of colonialism from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Students explore the insights
and emotions on both sides of the imperial fence, while learning about the hardships and triumphs of the colonial
experience.
A thorough pedagogical apparatus includes historical introductions, author headnotes, and reading questions that
provide students with tools to approach each selection in an informed manner. Students come to appreciate how fiction
both supported and questioned the basis and results of colonialism.
Three general introductions--"Defining Imperialism and Colonialism," "The Colonial and Postcolonial
Short Story," and "Postcolonial Theory: A Primer"--help students understand British colonialism,
apply postcolonial theory to short fiction, and put the anthologized stories into historical and literary context.
Short stories from eight regions cover works from England and its colonies across the globe: Ireland, Canada,
the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Regional introductions thoroughly interweave history and literary history to help students delve into each
region's short fiction with the background they need.
A wide representation of authors introduces students to internationally recognized authors such as Chinua Achebe,
Margaret Atwood, Jamaica Kincaid, Salman Rushdie, and Keri Hulme, as well as lesser known but equally important
writers--all of whom wrote their stories originally in English.
Author headnotes place the writers in postcolonial context and provide informative biographical information.
Questions following each reading selection encourage students to think critically about the stories and discuss
them with peers.
Explanatory footnotes help students to grasp unfamiliar regional references and colloquialisms within the short
stories.
Table of Contents
I. Contexts
Defining Imperialism and Colonialism
The Colonial and Postcolonial Short Story
Postcolonial Theory: A Primer
II. Stories
England
Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Beach at Falesá" (1882)
Rudyard Kipling, "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888)
Joseph Conrad, "Heart of Darkness" (1899)
Flora Annie Steele, "At the Great Durbar" (1897)
Alice Perrin, "Justice" (ca. 1901)
John Buchan, "The Kings of Orion"(1902)
Leonard Woolf "Pearls and Swine" (1915)
George Orwell, "A Hanging" (1931)
William Plomer, "A Child of Queen Victoria" (1933)
Doris Lessing, "The Old Chief Mshlanga" (1951)
Ireland
William Carleton, "Wildgoose Lodge" (ca. 1830)
James Joyce, "Eveline" (1914)
Liam O'Flaherty, "Going into Exile," 1929)
Frank O'Connor, "Guests of the Nation" (1931)
Mary Beckett, "A Belfast Woman" (1980)
Colum McCann, "Everything in This Country Must" (2000)
Canada
Sinclair Ross, "The Painted Door" (1939)
Hugh Garner, "One-Two-Three Little Indians" (1963)
Clark Blaise, "A Class of New Canadians" (1973)
George Bowering, "Bring Forth a Wonder" (1980)
Jane Rule, "The End of Summer" (1985)
Austin Clarke, "Griff" (1985)
Neil Bissoondath, "Digging Up the Mountains" (1985)
Dionne Brand, "Sans Souci" (1989)
Margaret Atwood, "The Age of Lead" (1991)
Norman Levine, "Something Happened Here" (1991)
The Caribbean
Samuel Dickson Selvon, "The Cricket Match" (1957)
Karl Sealy, "My Fathers Before Me" (1958)
Jean Rhys, "The Day They Burnt the Books" (1960)
C.L. R. James, "Triumph" (1965)
V. S. Naipaul, "The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book" (1967)
Jamaica Kincaid, "Blackness" (1983)
Paule Marshall, "To Da-duh, in Memoriam" (1985)
Olive Senior, "Do Angels Wear Brassiers?" (1986)
Lawrence Scott, "Ballad for the New World" (1994)
Sasenarine Persaud, "Canada Geese and Apple Chatney" (1997)
John Stewart, "The Old Men Used to Dance" (1998)
India/Pakistan
Raja Rao, "The Cow of the Barricades" (1947)
Krishan Chander, "Peshawar Express" (translated by KS Duggal) (ca. 1950)
Attia Hosain, "The First Party" (1953)
Mulk Raj Anand, "The Cobbler and the Machine" (1959)
R. K. Narayan, "A Horse and Two Goats" (1965)
Ruth Prahwer Jhabvala, "Miss Sahib" (1968)
Anita Desai, "Studies in the Park" (1978)
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. "Clothes" (1990)
Salmon Rushdie, "The Courter" (1994)
Bapsi Sidhwa, "Serahbai's Story" (2004)
Africa
Grace Ogot, "The Green Leaves" (1968)
Ama Ata Aidoo, "Two Sisters" (1970)
Charles Mungoshi, "Shadows on the Wall" (1972)
Chinua Achebe, "Girls at War" (1972)
N'gugi wa Thiong'o, "Minutes of Glory" (1975)
Bessie Head, "The Wind and a Boy" (1977)
Ken Saro-Wiwa, "Africa Kills Her Sun" (1989)
Nadine Gordimer, "Amnesty" (1991)
Alexander Kanengone, "Effortless Tears" (1993)
Sindiwe Magona, "I'm Not Talking About That, Now" (1996)
Australia
Henry Lawson, "The Union Buries Its Dead" (1896)
Henry Lawson, "The Drover's Wife" (1896)
Katharine Susannah Prichard, "Happiness" (1915)
Peter Cowan, "The Tractor" (1941)
Elizabeth Jolley, "A Hedge of Rosemary" (1967)
Frank Moorhouse, "A Person of Accomplishment" (1972)
Murray Bail, "The Drover's Wife" (1975)
Peter Carey, "War Crimes" (1979)
Barry Hill, "Lizards" (1994)
New Zealand
Lady Barker, "Christmas Day in New Zealand" (1870)
Alfred A Grace, "The Ngarara" (1901)
Katherine Mansfield, "How Pearl Button Was Kidnapped" (1910)
Frank Sargeson, "The Making of a New Zealander" (1940)
Douglas Stewart, "The Whare" (1944)
A.P. Gaskell, "School Picnic" (1947)
Witi Ihimaera, "The Whale" (1972)
Keri Hulme, "One Whale, Singing" (1975)
Patricia Grace, "Parade" (1975)
Shonagh Koea "Meat" (1982)
