Red Strangers
Encyclopedia
Red Strangers is a 1939 novel
by Elspeth Huxley
. The story is an account of the arrival and effects of British colonialists
, told through the eyes of four generations of Kikuyu tribesmen in Kenya
. The book immerses the reader so completely in the pre-Western Kikuyu culture, that when the Kikuyu are paid money for their labour, it is quite easy to understand why they throw the coins into the bushes. After all, what does money do?
Epic in its scale, Red Strangers spans four generations of a Kikuyu family in Africa and their relationship with European settlers, who were nicknamed "red" strangers due to their sunburns.
The book, by describing a Kenyan tribe and their way of life, with its rituals, its beliefs, its codes and its morality, shows European customs in stark, unflattering contrast with Kikuyu traditions. The differences in cultural attitudes to war, methods of cultivation, the administering of justice, and the use of money are played out in this semi-fictional view of the damaging forces of colonization.
Though the book was out of print for quite some time, in 1998 the British biologist
Richard Dawkins
wrote an article of appreciation for the novel in The Financial Times, challenging "any reputable publisher to bring out a copy of their own." Penguin Books
subsequently published the novel in February 1999, with Dawkins' article as the foreword
, followed by a paperback in May 2006 (see bookcover above). His article was recycled in A Devil's Chaplain
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE was a polymath, writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government advisor. She wrote 30 books; but she is best known for her lyrical books The Flame Trees of Thika and The Mottled Lizard which were based on her experiences growing up...
. The story is an account of the arrival and effects of British colonialists
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
, told through the eyes of four generations of Kikuyu tribesmen in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. The book immerses the reader so completely in the pre-Western Kikuyu culture, that when the Kikuyu are paid money for their labour, it is quite easy to understand why they throw the coins into the bushes. After all, what does money do?
Epic in its scale, Red Strangers spans four generations of a Kikuyu family in Africa and their relationship with European settlers, who were nicknamed "red" strangers due to their sunburns.
The book, by describing a Kenyan tribe and their way of life, with its rituals, its beliefs, its codes and its morality, shows European customs in stark, unflattering contrast with Kikuyu traditions. The differences in cultural attitudes to war, methods of cultivation, the administering of justice, and the use of money are played out in this semi-fictional view of the damaging forces of colonization.
Though the book was out of print for quite some time, in 1998 the British biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
wrote an article of appreciation for the novel in The Financial Times, challenging "any reputable publisher to bring out a copy of their own." Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
subsequently published the novel in February 1999, with Dawkins' article as the foreword
Foreword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
, followed by a paperback in May 2006 (see bookcover above). His article was recycled in A Devil's Chaplain
A Devil's Chaplain
A Devil's Chaplain, subtitled Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love is a 2003 book of selected essays and other writings by Richard Dawkins. Published five years after his previous book Unweaving the Rainbow, it contains 32 essays covering subjects including pseudoscience, genetic...
.