African Settings in Contemporary American Novels

British and American novels written before World War II established popular conventions and stereotypes about Africa that have been increasingly challenged by contemporary American novels set in Africa. Kuhne's book argues that these recent American novels with African settings are largely didactic, that they convey specific lessons about Africa and Africans, and that they compare African and American cultures to evaluate and critique the two worlds. After a summary of how British and American writers have traditionally depicted Africa, Kuhne looks at such topics as contemporary American novels set in invented African nations, the African novels of African American authors, genre fiction set in Africa, and postcolonial novels with African settings.