by Ferdinand Dennis (Author)
Marshall Sarjeant is born at the beginning of the 20th century in Paradise, Jamaica. As a young man, he is entrusted with a mythical quest to overcome a curse that has been put on his family. He must do this by returning to Africa from where family members were brought as slaves. Marshall's epic journey takes him first to wartime Liverpool and then London, where he marries and mixes with a clubland crowd of gamblers, musicians, and politicians. In Africa, he finds a continent in the turbulent throes of attempting to escape a colonial past.Returning to Paradise, Marshall's life turns full circle in his epic mission to defeat the duppy, or ghost that started him on his voyage. In Duppy Conqueror, Ferdinand Dennis has created a powerful narrative of the Afro-Caribbean experience in which the personal and the political seamlessly collide. Its themes are as relevant today as when it was first published in 1998.
Author Biography
Ferdinand Dennis was born in 1956 in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1964, he came to London where he grew up. He has taught creative writing and is the author of the novels, The Sleepless Summer and The Last Blues Dance. His non-fiction includes Back to Africa: A Journey and Behind the Frontlines; Journey into Afro-Britain for which he was awarded the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize. The Black and White Museum, a collection of short stories, will be published in 2021. Ferdinand Dennis lives in North London.