Genealogy and Decolonization: The Historical Novel of the Twentieth-century Caribbean

Georg Lukacs' argument that the development of the nineteenth-century European historical novel is tied to the political and economic changes of late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe is also applicable in the analysis of the genre of the historical novel in the Caribbean. Specifically, I propose that the historical novel of the Caribbean is inextricably linked with the process of decolonization, with the process of stepping away from the past provided by colonialism toward a past created by the postcolonial subject. Across the language barriers, the historical novel spans the twentieth century and the discourses of nation, race, ethnicity, class, and gender tied to colonization and decolonization, all the while writing and rewriting history and looking toward the future.