Imperial Intimacies: A Tale of Two Islands

Hazel Carby's family history is a personal story of the violent entanglement of two islands, charting the British Empire's interweaving of capital and bodies, public language, and private feeling. She explores the lives of her working-class grandmother Beatrice, white Carbys, black Carbys, and Bridget and Nancy, two women owned by Lilly, who survived the Middle Passage.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 12 October 2021
Publisher: Verso Books

Hazel Carby, a young woman born in post-World War II London, faced constant questioning about her identity due to her mixed heritage. As one of the so-called "brown babies" of the Windrush generation, Carby's place in her home, neighborhood, and country of birth was always uncertain. She emerged from this backdrop to unravel the intricate connections between her family members, tracing their paths back through the British Empire's web across the Atlantic.

In this journey, we meet Carby's working-class grandmother, Beatrice, a seamstress plagued by poverty and illness. In England, Beatrice was captivated by the cosmopolitan dreams of empire, the cities built on the profits of slave trade, and the street peddlers selling fashionable Jamaican delicacies. In Jamaica, we delve into the lives of both the white Carbys and the black Carbys, including Mary Ivey, a free woman of color whose children were fathered by Lilly Carby, a British soldier who arrived in Jamaica in 1789 to assimilate into the plantation aristocracy. We also uncover the hidden stories of Bridget and Nancy, two women owned by Lilly who survived the treacherous Middle Passage from Africa to the Caribbean.

Carby's family story unfolds across various locations, including Jamaican plantations, the rolling hills of Devon, bustling port cities like Bristol, Cardiff, and Kingston, and the working-class estates of South London. It is a personal narrative that intertwines with a broader examination of the violent entanglement of two islands—the British Empire's intricate weaving of capital, bodies, public language, and private feelings. As Carby delves into this history, she grapples with the limits of what she can know, remember, and bear to uncover.

Through her meticulous research and storytelling, Hazel Carby offers a poignant reflection on the complexities of identity, heritage, and the enduring legacies of the British Empire. Her book sheds light on the experiences of individuals like Beatrice, Mary Ivey, Bridget, and Nancy, who were caught in the crosshairs of empire's expansion and exploitation. It also challenges us to reckon with the ongoing consequences of colonialism and the ongoing struggles for justice and equality in the world.

Weight: 338g
Dimension: 130 x 199 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781788735100