Intimate Afterlives of Empire : Memory and Decolonisation in Autobiography

Intimate afterlives of empire is the first comprehensive study of an important genre of cultural memory, the post-imperial autobiography. Through close readings of personal narratives from four corners of the globe, it examines the dialogue between individual and collective memory in the wake of empire. -- .

Through close readings of almost twenty autobiographies written after the break-up of the British Empire, the book examines how individuals engage with the changing narrative landscape brought about by decolonisation. It considers the autobiographies less for what they may teach us about the moment remembered and more as windows on the act of remembering. This adds a crucial dimension to our understanding of the legacies of colonialism and how the ongoing process of decolonisation is reflected on the level of the individual. It argues that autobiographers are at once influenced by and seek to influence the cultural memory of empire and its legacies, and the authors’ own position in both. Situated at the intersection of imperial/decolonisation history, memory studies, and life writing studies, the book uncovers this intimate afterlife of empire.