Sentimental Journey and Other Stories

Description

Published on 21st October to mark Black History Month, Sentimental Journey and Other Stories is Dr. Velma McClymont’s 8th book. This historical collection of short stories explores the black experience in Britain (1948 to 1998) and examines colonialism/neo-colonialism in Jamaica (from the 1950s to the 1970s). The book is a ‘must-read’ for those interested in the coming to England story of displacement, and the struggle for survival in a hostile environment.

Based on historical fact and fiction, Sentimental Journey pays tribute to the Black construction workers (young Caribbean men) who helped to rebuild London in the post-war era, the nurses who worked in the NHS (from the 1950s onwards), the seamstresses who worked in clothing factories in London (1950s to the 1970s), British Rail workers, factory workers, businessmen, and so on.

The collection is also a ‘coming to consciousness’ text that explores issues of race, class, gender, religion, sexuality, the British education system, cultural retention, retrieval and redemption.