Description
Book SynopsisSherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda: Negotiating the Centre and the Periphery presents a postcolonial reading of Conan Doyle's canonical detective textsSherlock Holmes adventures, and some lesser known detective texts written by two Bengali (Indian) writersSharadindu Bandyopadhyay (1899-1970), and Satyajit Ray (1921-1992). The book proposes that in a postcolonial reading situation, the representation of Holmes problematizes the act of reading and also the act and discourse of inquiry. The fact that the Holmes adventures contribute to the hegemonic culture of Anglo/Eurocentrism is seen as a reinforcement of racial superiority among the colonized. This book studies how literary texts function as a signifier of a particular national identity, and can indicate the cultural construct of a state. It contends that only those texts which cater to the standards of global hierarchy are considered canonical, and indigenous texts, however significant, remain as Other literature. The bo
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: Understanding Hegemony and the Other
Chapter Two: Sherlock Holmes: Super-sleuth and Agent of British Imperialism
Chapter Three: The Politics of Centering and Othering
Chapter Four: Subverting the Centre with Byomkesh
Chapter Five: Beyond the Anglophone Shadow: Feluda Finds his Own Space
Chapter Six: You Know My Method: Beyond Detective Tasks
Conclusion
Appendix: The Legacy of Bengali Detectives
