Danell Jones

In a world dominated by the British Empire, and at a time when many Europeans considered black people inferior, Sierra Leonean writer A. B. C. Merriman-Labor claimed his right to describe the world as he found it. He looked at the greatest city in the greatest empire the world had ever known--and laughed. An African in Imperial London: The Indomitable Life of A.B.C. Merriman-Labor (Hurst/Oxford University Press) tells the fascinating story of early 20th-century London through the eyes of this ambitious young African who spent fifteen years in the great metropolis. In this first biography of Merriman-Labor, award-winning writer Danell Jones describes the tragic spiral that pulled him down the social ladder from witty observer of British life to a patient in a state-run hospital for the poor. The book chronicles the life of an extraordinary man in an extraordinary time and offers a rich portrait of London as writhed its way into a new century of appalling social inequity, world-transforming inventions, and unprecedented demands for civil rights. An African in Imperial London is a must-read for anyone eager to learn the hidden history of Africans living at the heart of the British empire. Readers will be moved and inspired by the engaging story of an African writer determined to fight for social justice as he proved his talent on the world’s greatest literary stage. Marvelously readable! Corby Skinner, Yellowstone Public Radio An enlightening account of what it meant to be black in the most powerful country in the world. Peter Stansky, Stanford University The moving and surprising story of A.B.C. Merriman-Labor. Edward Mendelson, Columbia University Elegantly written and meticulously researched. Hakim Adi, University of Chichester A deep sense of humanity pervades this splendid biography. David Killingray, University of London A brilliant biography. Jacqueline Mulhallen, Counterfire.org Danell Jones is an award-winning writer, scholar, and teacher. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University where she was awarded a Whiting Fellowship in the Humanities and a Bennett Cerf Award for her writing. Read more about her at danelljones.com.