Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda: Negotiating the Center and the Periphery

Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda: Negotiating the Center and the Periphery

Hardback (27 Dec 2021)

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Publisher's Synopsis

Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Feluda: Negotiating the Centre and the Periphery presents a postcolonial reading of Conan Doyle's canonical detective texts-Sherlock Holmes adventures, and some lesser known detective texts written by two Bengali (Indian) writers-Sharadindu 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 book highlights colonial and postcolonial discourse in the Bengali detective texts and examines, how far Holmes has been able to reinforce racial dominance over the Indian detectives Byomkesh Bakshi and Feluda.

Book information

ISBN: 9781498512107
Publisher: Lexington Books
Imprint: Lexington Books
Pub date:
DEWEY: 891.4437109
DEWEY edition: 23/eng/20211104
Language: English
Number of pages: x, 197
Weight: 490g
Height: 238mm
Width: 159mm
Spine width: 22mm