Natives of My Person - Softcover

Lamming, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 024182947X ISBN 13: 9780241829479

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2026

Synopsis

A profound exploration of colonialism, from one of the Caribbean’s most powerful literary voices

‘A novel which adds a new dimension to contemporary fiction ... Natives of My Person is above all the story of a voyage … a voyage which as in The Odyssey and Moby Dick penetrates into the very depths of a civilization’ C. L. R. James

In the age of empire, the good ship Reconnaissance sets sail under its murderous Commandant. Yet this is no ordinary expedition for gold and plunder. It is a mission to create a new world in the virgin territories of San Cristobal, a fabled island shrouded in myth and promise. As the perilous voyage unfolds, however, it becomes a mirror of the colonial mind: avaricious, brutish, haunted by death and madness.

With poetic intensity and philosophical depth, this is a novel that journeys far beyond the seas it charts. Through shifting perspectives and a richly layered narrative, Lamming unearths the deep scars of conquest and the personal and political dimensions of empire – its delusions, its violence, and the haunting legacy it leaves behind.

‘One of the great political novels in modern “colonial” literature’ Ngugi wa Thiong’o

About this title

About the Author

George Lamming was a Barbados-born novelist, essayist, and poet. He taught at universities around the world, including posts of Distinguished Visiting Professor at Duke University and Visiting Professor at Brown University. His books include In the Castle of My Skin (1953), The Emigrants (1954), Of Age and Innocence (1958), and The Pleasures of Exile (1960).

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 024182947X
• ISBN 13: 9780241829479
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432