Elspeth Huxley

Elizabeth Fiona Oldfield (University of Derby)
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Elspeth Huxley, the “chronicler of colonial Kenya” (Lyall), is known for her African writing, particularly her semi-autobiographical novel,

The Flame Trees of Thika

(1959). Her forty-eight works comprise biographies, semi-autobiographical memoirs, novels, detective stories, travel books, political commentary and polemics. On 10th December 1921, at the age of fourteen, her first piece of writing was published in the

East African Standard

under the pseudonym ‘Bamboo’, and she continued writing up to her death. Widely regarded as “the veritable proponent of British imperialism in Africa” (Burnett, 289) Huxley’s African writing and identity spawns critical reaction from indigenous African writers and critics such as Chinua Achebe, who condemn her for “consider[ing] herself an…

1950 words

Citation: Oldfield, Elizabeth Fiona. "Elspeth Huxley". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 November 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2282, accessed 28 March 2024.]

2282 Elspeth Huxley 1 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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