Author’s Note
237 Words
Author’s Note
This sequence of novels and short stories takes as its subject the Italian experience in Cyrenaica. The Young Maronite (1971) discusses the 1911 war prompted by Giolitti, The Marriage of Omar (1973) narrates the ensuing truce and the attempt by the two peoples to strike a compromise before the rise of Fascism. The Nocturnal Visitor (1979) chronicles the end of the twenty-year Libyan resistance; Officers’ Tales (1967) focuses on the triumph of colonialism – albeit this having been achieved when the end of Italian hegemony was already in sight and the Second World War appeared inevitable – and The Psychological Comedy (1992), which ends with Italy’s retreat from Libya and the fleeing of settlers. Entry into Babylon (1976) concentrates on Libyan independence in 1951, Cairo Nights (1986) illustrates the early years of the Sanussi Monarchy and the looming spectre of Pan-Arab nationalism, while The Shore of the Lesser Life (1997) examines the profound social and political changes that occurred when large oil and gas deposits were discovered in the mid 1960s. Each text can be read independently or as part of the sequence. Either mode of reading will produce different – but equally legitimate – impressions.2
2The dates indicate the original publication dates of each of the novels.
THE CONFINES OF THE SHADOW
In Lands Overseas
I
The Colonial Conquest
The Young Maronite
The Marriage of Omar
The Nocturnal Visitor
II
The Colonial Era
Officers’ Tales
New Officers’ Tales
Colonial Tales
New Colonial Tales
III
Independence
The Psychological Comedy
Entry into Babylon
Cairo Nights
The Shore of the Lesser Life
- Writer
