A View of the Empire at Sunset
Published on 21. June 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-78470-901-3 (ISBN)
Description
Award-winning writer Caryl Phillips presents a beautiful, heart-breaking novel of the life of Jean Rhys, author of Wide Sargasso Sea.
'[A] remarkable novel... The story of a troubled young woman trying to make her way in England during the early years of the twentieth century' WILLIAM BOYD
In the heart of London's Bloomsbury, Gwendolen - not yet truly famous as the writer 'Jean Rhys' - is presented with the opportunity she has been waiting for. Her husband has received an unexpected inheritance; she can, at last, return to the island of her childhood.
For Gwendolen, Dominica is a place of freedom and beauty, far away from the lonely nights and failed dreams of England. But this visit home compels her to reflect on the events of her past, and on what they may mean for her future.
'Phillips' novel of being and becoming, of memory, and the mythology of writers and writing is a wonder. This is a gift of a book' Niven Govinden, author of All the Days and Nights
'This dark, glimmering beauty of a novel penetrates the English mist, illuminates the past and present and offers us the life of a great writer, in the heart and mind of this great writer, Caryl Phillips' Amy Bloom, author of White Houses
'Subtle and piercing... Phillips keeps on taking risks and telling powerful stories' Times Literary Supplement
'[A] remarkable novel... The story of a troubled young woman trying to make her way in England during the early years of the twentieth century' WILLIAM BOYD
In the heart of London's Bloomsbury, Gwendolen - not yet truly famous as the writer 'Jean Rhys' - is presented with the opportunity she has been waiting for. Her husband has received an unexpected inheritance; she can, at last, return to the island of her childhood.
For Gwendolen, Dominica is a place of freedom and beauty, far away from the lonely nights and failed dreams of England. But this visit home compels her to reflect on the events of her past, and on what they may mean for her future.
'Phillips' novel of being and becoming, of memory, and the mythology of writers and writing is a wonder. This is a gift of a book' Niven Govinden, author of All the Days and Nights
'This dark, glimmering beauty of a novel penetrates the English mist, illuminates the past and present and offers us the life of a great writer, in the heart and mind of this great writer, Caryl Phillips' Amy Bloom, author of White Houses
'Subtle and piercing... Phillips keeps on taking risks and telling powerful stories' Times Literary Supplement
Reviews / Votes
Remarkable... The story of a troubled young woman trying to make her way in England during the early years of the twentieth century... A novel of acute psychological empathy and understanding -- William Boyd * New York Times * A richly atmospheric tale with a bleak glimpse of the empire -- Jeffrey Burke * Mail on Sunday * A View of the Empire at Sunset is a sympathetic and powerful portrait of an outcast...as well as a searing indictment of the empire * Mail Online UK * [Phillips is] a lyrical, transporting stylist and his focus on Gwen's displacement has profound thematic resonance -- Lucy Atkins * Sunday Times * A View of the Empire at Sunset quietly but powerfully articulates the social and global forces that shaped such a woman -- Sophie Oliver * Times Literary Supplement * One of Britain's pre-eminent writers * Guardian * Distinguished novelist and essayist Phillips explores with rigor and artistry the ever-after effects of the toxic double-helix of racism and imperialism embodied in the African diaspora in the Caribbean, England, and America... A daring fictionalization... Hypnotic... Phillips' bravura, empathic, and unnerving performance makes the real-world achievement of his muse all the more surprising and significant -- Starred Review * Booklist * Haunting... Phillips is at his best in this powerful evocation of Rhys's vision, which illuminates both her time and the present. -- Starred Review * Publishers Weekly * Phillips...brings his eloquent gifts for writing about those marginalised by race, colonial status and class to a fictionalised version of the story of novelist Jean Rhys... Devastating * BBC.com * Phillips' novel of being and becoming, of memory, and the mythology of writers and writing is a wonder. This is a gift of a book -- Niven Govinden, author of All the Days and NightsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
280 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78470-901-3 (9781784709013)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Caryl Phillips
A View of the Empire at Sunset
E-Book
06/2018
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Caryl Phillips is the author of numerous acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction, including the novels Crossing the River (shortlisted for the Booker Prize 1993) and A Distant Shore (winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2004). Phillips has won the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN Open Book Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, as well as being named the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 1992 and one of the Granta Best of Young British Writers 1993. He has also written for television, radio, theatre and film.