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Beka Lamb
Zee Edgell
Novel, 1982
A schoolgirl's coming-of-age in 1950s Belize City, set against Creole family life, Catholic schooling and the rise of the independence movement.
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Books set in Belize
Five books by writers from Belize, set there, that give a real sense of the place, starting with Beka Lamb and In Times Like These.
About the literature of Belize
Belize's best-known novelist is Zee Edgell, whose Beka Lamb brings a schoolgirl's 1950s Belize City to life as the country edges towards independence. Edgell's Time and the River is a historical novel of Belize in the era of slavery, in the early 1800s. Zoila Ellis's On Heroes, Lizards and Passion gathers short stories of everyday Belizean life, mixing Creole voices and folklore.
Belize became independent from Britain in 1981, and its literature is a young, compact body of work. English is the official language, and Kriol, Spanish, Garifuna and Maya languages are all spoken across the country. Edgell's In Times Like These sends a woman home around independence to face postcolonial politics and Central American regional tensions.
By writers from Belize
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In Times Like These
Zee Edgell
Novel, 1991
A Belizean woman returns home around independence and faces the pressures of postcolonial politics, gender and Central American regional tensions.
The Festival of San Joaquin
Zee Edgell
Novel, 1997
Follows a woman from a rural Belizean community through violence, the courts and her own recovery, showing the country's social and legal realities.
Time and the River
Zee Edgell
Novel, 2007
A historical novel of Belize around 1800, following an enslaved woman's life under slavery and colonial society.
On Heroes, Lizards and Passion
Zoila Ellis
Short stories, 1988
Short stories of everyday Belizean life, mixing Creole voices, folklore, relationships and social change across the country.
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