Barbados / Special Interests / Recommended reading

As one of the three main centres of British colonial power, and host of Caribbean archives, Barbados has a long tradition of literature. The earliest work about the island is Richard Ligon's, A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes, a description of what the island was like during the early days of colonisation. First published in 1657, it has recently been republished by the Barbados National Trust. There are many good histories and pamphlets which you will find in the various bookshops, but they do go fairly quickly in and out of print. Other histories to look out for include Ronald Tree's, A History of Barbados , published by Granada in 1972.

But there is also a newer tradition too, both of local writers, for example George Lamming and the poet Edward Braithwaite, and of visitors to the island, who have used the unique setting of Barbados for their novels.

In the Castle of my Skin, by George Lamming, is the story of growing up in Barbados and the racial tension that existed in the last century.

Rites of Passage, Edward Braithwaite, poetry

Caribbee by Thomas Hoover, a Caribbean romp in the time of the early settlers.