Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Amy S. Rushton (The Nottingham Trent University)
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Things Fall Apart

is the debut novel by the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958 by Heinemann as part of its iconic African Writers Series, it is a slim novel whose third-person narrative voice tells the deceptively simple, linear story of the rise and fall of one man, Okonkwo, in the early days of British colonialism in Nigeria. Whilst many works of literature are referred to as seminal, Achebe’s

Things Fall Apart

can claim to be so in the most accurate sense of the word. Its initial success established the African Writers Series “as a major provider of African fiction and poetry in English and in English translation” (Izevbaye 2004: 484). Since its publication,

Things Fall Apart

has been translated into fifty languages and sold 11 million copies worldwide; it is taught…

3289 words

Citation: Rushton, Amy S.. "Things Fall Apart". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 July 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8277, accessed 19 March 2024.]

8277 Things Fall Apart 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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