Edgar Mittelhölzer
Personal Information
Description
Edgar Austin Mittelholzer (16 December 1909 – 6 May 1965) was a Guyanese novelist, the earliest novelist from the West Indian region to establish himself in Europe and gain a significant European readership. Mittelholzer, who earned his living almost exclusively by writing fiction, is considered the first professional novelist to come out of the English-speaking Caribbean. His novels include characters and situations from a variety of places within the Caribbean, and range in time from the early period of European settlement to the 20th century. They feature a cross-section of ethnic groups and social classes, dealing with subjects of historical, political, psychological, and moral interest. Mittelholzer is "certainly the most prolific novelist to be produced by the Caribbean". Mittelholzer committed suicide in England in 1965.
Books
My Bones and My Flute
A tense, eerie ghost story, set in pre-independence Guyana, by one of the country's greatest writers. Deep in the Guyanese jungle the bones of a Dutch plantation owner lie unburied on the forest floor; nearby his old timber mill stands deserted. Oppressive and sinister memories of an occult past linger menacingly over the mill. And always the haunting, insistent sound of a phantom flute. Journeying up-river the Nevinson family and a young artist come to visit the plantation, unaware that a nightmarish curse is reaching its terrifying climax.
Corentyne Thunder
Ramgolall, an old Indian cow-minder, has punished himself to save money and has built a sizeable herd. His first daughter is the long-established mistress of a well-to-do white planter. Their son, his grandson, Geoffry, light-skinned and ambitious, seems destined for success. but when Geoffry become involved with Kattree, his daughter by a second marriage, Ramgolall's world begins to fall apart (from the book's back cover).
Creole Chips and Other Writings
Short Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Essays 1937-1954