Biography Essay

Edgar Mittelholzer occupies a special place in the literary history of the English-speaking Caribbean. Although H. G. de Lisser is generally regarded as the first major novelist to emerge from the region, his achievement is divided between fiction, journalism, and public affairs. On the other hand, in a career lasting some three decades, Mittelholzer wrote virtually nothing but fiction and earned his living by it. He is thus the first professional novelist to come out of the English-speaking Caribbean. Some of Mittelholzer's novels include characters and situations from a variety of places within the Caribbean. They range in time from the earliest period of European settlement to the present day and deal with a cross section of ethnic groups and social classes, not to mention subjects of historical, political, psychological, and moral interest. In addition, eight of Mittelholzer's novels are non-Caribbean in subject and setting. For...