Last of the African Kings

Maryse Condé was a novelist, critic, and playwright from Guadeloupe. Condé is best known for her novel Segu. She has won various awards, such as the Grand Prix Littéraire de la Femme (1986), Prix de l’Académie française (1988), Prix Carbet de la Carraibe (1997) and the New Academy Prize in Literature (2018) for her works.Richard Philcox is one of the leading translators of francophone literature in the world today. Philcox has taught translation on various American college campuses and won grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts for the translation of Maryse Condé’s works.

“A provocative critique of multiculturalism and modern race relations. . . . CondÉ’s narrative, fluidly translated from the French by her husband, Richard Philcox, uses irony and humor to portray travelers moving back and forth along the historic line between Africa, the Antilles, and America, delivering a vision of the black diaspora that challenges stereotypes by celebrating individual differences.” - New York Times