By Samuel Selvon (author) Part of the Modern Classics series
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Both devastating and funny, The Lonely Londoners is an unforgettable account of immigrant experience - and one of the great twentieth-century London novels. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Susheila Nasta.
At Waterloo Station, hopeful new arrivals from the West Indies step off the boat train, ready to start afresh in 1950s London. There, homesick Moses Aloetta, who has already lived in the city for years, meets Henry 'Sir Galahad' Oliver and shows him the ropes. In this strange, cold and foggy city where the natives can be less than friendly at the sight of a black face, has Galahad met his Waterloo?
But the irrepressible newcomer cannot be cast down. He and all the other lonely new Londoners - from shiftless Cap to Tolroy, whose family has descended on him from Jamaica - must try to create a new life for themselves. As pessimistic 'old veteran' Moses watches their attempts, they gradually learn to survive and come to love the heady excitements of London.
If you enjoyed The Lonely Londoners, you might like Jean Rhys's Voyage in the Dark or Shiva Naipaul's Fireflies, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.
'His Lonely Londoners has acquired a classics status since it appeared in 1956 as the definitive novel about London's West Indians' - Financial Times 'The unforgettable picaresque ... a vernacular comedy of pathos' - Guardian
Sam Selvon was born in San Fernando (Trinidad) in 1923 and worked in his homeland as a wireless operator and reporter. In 1950 he left Trinidad for the UK, where he established himself as a writer with A Brighter Sun (1952). Many other books followed, including his best-known novel, The Lonely Londoners (1956), and its two sequels, Moses Ascending (1975) and Moses Migrating (1983). He moved to Canada in the late 1970s and died in 1994.
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Tasneem Abdur-Rashid
Both devastating and funny, The Lonely Londoners is an unforgettable account of immigrant experience - and one of the great twentieth-century London novels. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Susheila Nasta.At Waterloo Station, hopeful new arrivals from the West Indies step off the boat train, ready to start afresh in 1950s London.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Lonely Londoners and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
The Lonely Londoners features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Featured Books for Young Adults, Stories about Family and Friends, Historical Fiction, PSHE: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Inclusion, Recommendations, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE)
Paperback. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Lonely Londoners was written by Samuel Selvon and published by Penguin Classics an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
The Lonely Londoners has 160 pages
Yes it is part of Modern Classics series
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. In Stock.
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