African and Caribbean Historical Novel in French: A Quest for Identity

The African and Caribbean Historical Novel in French: A Quest for Identity examines the historical novel that has emerged in Francophone Africa and the Caribbean since the late 1930s and includes such writers as Edouard Glissant of Martinique and Paul Hazoumé of Benin. This study underscores the ideological differences that distinguish the African and Caribbean historical novel from the classical nineteenth-century European historical novel. Through a post-colonial reading, the author examines the influence of Negritude on these writers and calls for an Afrocentric approach.