Looking at a diverse series of authors--Herman Melville, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Mark Twain, Charles Warren Stoddard, and Jack London--The Colonizer Abroad claims that as the U.S. emerged as a colonial power in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the literature of the sea became a literature of imperialism. This book applies postcolonial theory to the travel writing of some of America's best-known authors, revealing the ways in which America's travel fiction and nonfiction have both reflected and shaped society.
About the Author: Christopher McBride completed his Ph.D. in English in 2001 at the Claremont Graduate University, and is currently a member of the English faculty at Solano College. He has published articles on American conjure stories, Herman Melville, William Dean Howells, and Mary Austin.