'A wonderful bitter-sweet book, written with disarming simplicity' Esther Freud 'It was as if a curtain had fallen, hiding everything I had ever known,' says Anna Morgan, eighteen years old and catapulted to England from the West Indies after the death of her beloved father. Working as a chorus girl, Anna drifts into the demi-monde of Edwardian London. But there, dismayed by the unfamiliar cold and greyness, she is absolutely alone and unconsciously floating from innocence to harsh experience. Her childish dreams have been replaced by harsh reality. Voyage in the Dark was first published in 1934, but it could have been written today. It is the story of an unhappy love affair, a portrait of a hypocritical society, and an exploration of exile and breakdown; all written in Jean Rhys's hauntingly simple and beautiful style.
Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys was a British writer known for her vivid and haunting exploration of the complexities of human relationships and the struggles of marginalized individuals. Born in Dominica in 1890, Rhys is best known for her novel "Wide Sargasso Sea," a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" that examines the story of Bertha Mason, the madwoman in the attic.
Rhys' writing style is characterized by its spare, evocative prose and its focus on the internal lives of her characters. She often delved into themes of alienation, displacement, and the search for identity, drawing on her own experiences as a mixed-race woman in a colonial society.
Rhys' work has had a significant impact on the literary genre of postcolonial literature, challenging traditional narratives and giving voice to those on the margins of society. Her contributions to literature continue to be celebrated for their depth, insight, and lasting relevance.