Improvisations of Empire

Matthew Shum, a research associate in the English department at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, has previously taught in the English department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The focus of Shum’s research is colonial writing in South Africa in the long eighteenth century.

• Introduction; 1. Scotland: 1789–1820; 2. The Eastern Cape Frontier: 1820–1822; 3. Cape Town and Beyond: 1822–1825; 4. London: 1826–1834; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

“Improvisations of Empire shows how a careful reading of a literary oeuvre can transform how we think about the legacies of the colonial era. It rescues Pringle from the realms of liberal mythmaking, casting new light on a historical period in which nation-building, class-consciousness, abolition, Christian evangelism and colonialism were deeply entangled.” —Peter D. McDonald, Professor of English and Related Literature, University of Oxford, UK