The Forger's Tale: The Search for Odeziaku (New African Histories)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.90 (883 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 082141710X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-09-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Between 1905 and 1939 a conspicuously tall white man with a shock of red hair, dressed in a silk shirt and white linen trousers, could be seen on the streets of Onitsha, in Eastern Nigeria. How was it possible for an unconventional, boy-loving Englishman to gain a social status among the local populace enjoyed by few other Europeans in colonial West Africa? In The Forger's Tale: The Search for Odeziaku Stephanie Newell charts the story of the English novelist and poet John Moray Stuart-Young (1881-1939) as he traveled from the slums of Manchester to West Africa in order to escape the homophobic prejudices of late-Victorian society. Leaving behind a criminal record for forgery and embezzlement and his notoriety as a "spirit rapper," Stuart-Young found a new identity as a wealthy palm oil trader and a celebrated author, known to Nigerians as "Odeziaku." In this fascinating biographical account, Newell draws on queer theory, African gender debates, and "new imperial history" to open up a wider study of imperialism, (homo)sexuality, and nonelite culture between the 1880s and the late 1930s. The Forger's Tale pays close attention to different forms of West
Stephanie Newell is a professor of English at the University of Sussex, UK, and the author of West African Literature: Ways of Reading, Literary Culture in Colonial Ghana, and Ghanaian Popular Fiction: How to Play the Game of Life.
About the AuthorStephanie Newell is a professor of English at the University of Sussex, UK, and the author of West African Literature: Ways of Reading, Literary Culture in Colonial Ghana, and Ghanaian Popular Fiction: How to Play the Game of Life.
Cultural history at its best Glazedover "The Forger's Tale" is a beautiful story of one's man courage to discover himself in a world still expanding. Like so many young men of his era, lost at home in London he goes abroad to find fame, fortuneand himself. It reads like a Lifetime movie but the fact that it's true makes it all the more poignant. It would have been wonderful to find all there was about Odeziaku in Africa, but the fact that he was so well loved and respected purely for who is was and not hated for what he appeared to be, as in London, is humbling and beautifully portrayed by Newell. An uplifting tale of humanity.