V. S. Naipaul, The Suffrage of Elvira

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In 1956, with two books under his belt but plagued by uncertain prospects, V.S. Naipaul left Britain for an extended stay in Trinidad. The experience disillusioned him, as he felt like even more of an outsider than he did in England. His Oxford education made the locals treat him as an outsider, while his appearance was becoming a liability among nationalist groups. The General Elections were in full swing, and while Naipaul felt disenfranchised by the results, as an artist he couldn’t help seeing the potential for a real novel about Trinidad. As he wrote to his wife, Pat, “From the writing point of view, this land is pure gold… Trinidad is a funny place. It has a population less than Nottingham’s yet, …

1961 words

Citation: Grasso, Joshua. "The Suffrage of Elvira". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7854, accessed 28 March 2024.]

7854 The Suffrage of Elvira 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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