Exiles Three Island Journeys
Exiles Three Island Journeys by William Atkins, published by Faber & Faber, Limited on July 6, 2023, is a 320-page exploration of the lives of three lesser-known nineteenth-century dissidents. The book delves into the experiences of Louise Michel, Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo, and Lev Shternberg, whose lives were significantly influenced by the forces of empire, nationalism, and autocracy. Atkins journeys to their places of exile—Michel’s New Caledonia, Dinuzulu’s St Helena, and Shternberg’s Sakhalin—to uncover how these locations shaped their identities and the broader implications of their exiles.
In Exiles, readers will find a rich narrative that intertwines history, biography, and travel writing. Atkins examines the connections between the exiled individuals and the colonized populations, shedding light on themes of displacement and colonialism. The book presents a detailed portrayal of the figures and landscapes involved, revealing profound insights into the nature of home and belonging. This edition offers a thoughtful perspective on the intersections of social science and adventure, inviting readers to reflect on the enduring impacts of exile and the human experience.
Official synopsis Publisher
This is the story of three unheralded nineteenth-century dissidents, whose lives were profoundly shaped by the winds of empire, nationalism and autocracy that continue to blow strongly today: Louise Michel, a leader of the radical socialist government known as the Paris Commune; Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo, an enemy of British colonialism in Zululand; and Lev Shternberg, a militant campaigner against Russian tsarism. In Exiles, William Atkins travels to their islands of banishment – Michel’s New Caledonia in the South Pacific, Dinuzulu’s St Helena in the South Atlantic, and Shternberg’s Sakhalin off the Siberian coast – in a bid to understand how exile shaped them and the people among whom they were exiled. In doing so he illuminates the solidarities that emerged between the exiled subject, on the one hand, and the colonised subject, on the other. Rendering these figures and the places they were forced to occupy in shimmering detail, Atkins reveals deeply human truths about displacement, colonialism and what it means to have and to lose a home. Occupying the fertile zone where history, biography and travel writing meet, Exiles is a masterpiece of imaginative empathy.
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