Modernism and Colonialism

“A comprehensive collection on the relationship between modernist aesthetics and the political realities of colonialism . . . Impressive.” - Timothy Sutton, English Literature in Transition

“Begam and Moses have produced a strongly coherent volume, one in which modernism is frequently read as a critique of Western complacencies. The most interesting and challenging contributions, however, focus on authors, such as Elizabeth Bowen and Evelyn Waugh, whose affiliations and formal innovations do not fit this paradigm so comfortably.” - Forum for Modern Language Studies

“Erudite, imaginative, and largely persuasive, these critics append bibliographies to their essays that attest to the recent proliferation of modernist and postcolonial studies. Their contributions should stimulate further scholarship. Recommended.” - M. S. Vogeler, Choice

“The editors are to be commended not only for persuading such an exciting and well-regarded group of scholars to contribute to this collection but also for structuring the collection so wisely. The essays range widely enough among topics of study to underscore the diverse ways in which modernists and modernist texts engaged with colonial questions, but a genuine, seemingly effortless dialogue unfolds among the essays.” - Paige Reynolds, Journal of British Studies

“The essays range broadly not only in scope, but also in their responses to the coincidence of the high point of colonialism and modernism. . . . [The essays] provide an impressive array of arguments in favour of a continuing critical engagement with the relations between modernism and colonialism.” - Coilin Parsons, Review of English Studies

“Modernism and Colonialism is a terrific book—timely, intelligent, capacious, and a pleasure to read.” - Douglas Mao, coeditor of Bad Modernisms

“Modernism and Colonialism will have a real impact on the fields of postcolonial studies and British modernism. It succeeds in treating colonialism as a condition of possibility for a vibrant British-transnational modernism.” - Simon During, author of Modern Enchantments: The Cultural Power of Secular Magic

“The subject of this collection—the relation between modernism, understood especially in terms of formal innovation and self-reflexivity, and the historical phenomenon of British colonialism and of resistance to colonialism—is an important and timely one that has received remarkably little attention.” - Derek Attridge, author of The Singularity of Literature