Babylon and golden city

This study explores the significance of London in novels by Black and Asian British authors of the second and third generation, which were published between 1990 and 2003. It thus brings together two traditionally separate fields within literary studies: Black British literature and research on representations of the city, specifically London, in literature. Based on a cultural studies understanding of identity as constituted by multiple positioning factors, the study focuses on the importance of the urban environment - both as a material and symbolic site - to the protagonists' identity construction. Furthermore, it analyses how Black and Asian British writers draw on Anglo-Saxon imaginary traditions of representing the metropolis as well as imagery derived from non-European cultures. The study provides a sociological overview on London's ethnic minority groups using recent statistical data and draws on a broad spectrum of texts from various genres as well as different topographical perspectives.