''Minty Alley'' is a novel written by
Trinidadian
Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...
writer
C. L. R. James
Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, ''The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are in ...
in the late 1920s, and published in London by
Secker & Warburg
Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press.
History
Secker & Warburg
Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
in 1936, as
West Indian literature
Caribbean literature is the literature of the various territories of the Caribbean region. Literature in English from the former British West Indies may be referred to as Anglo-Caribbean or, in historical contexts, as West Indian literature. Most ...
was starting to flourish. It was the first novel by a black West Indian to be published in England, and "earned much praise for its sensitive portrayal of the poor, especially poor women, and for its playful use of the folkloric trickster tradition in a modern context."
[Gregory McNamee]
"C.L.R. James’ Novel Minty Alley Turns 80"
''Kirkus'', 2 February 2016.
According to Christian Høgsbjerg, James later noted: "'the basic constituent of my political activity and outlook' was already set out in ‘the "human" aspect’ of ''Minty Alley'', the unpublished novel he wrote in 1928 about the working people of one 'barrack-yard' he stayed in that summer." James arrived in the United Kingdom in 1932, intent on a career as a writer and bearing the manuscript of ''Minty Alley'', and found employment writing about
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
for the ''
Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. He soon became involved in politics, writing books about the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
and
Haitian revolution
The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...
s, leaving his literary ambitions behind. ''Minty Alley'' was his only novel. James died in London in 1989.
A new edition of the novel was issued by
New Beacon Books
New Beacon Books is a British publishing house, bookshop, and international book service that specializes in Black British, Caribbean, African, African-American and Asian literature. Founded in 1966 by John La Rose and Sarah White, it was the fi ...
in 1971, and in 1997 the
University Press of Mississippi
The University Press of Mississippi, founded in 1970, is a publisher that is sponsored by the eight state universities in Mississippi.
Universities
* Alcorn State University
*Delta State University
*Jackson State University
*Mississippi State U ...
published a US edition. In 2021, a new edition was published by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[Bernardine Evaristo
Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Black ...]
.
Dramatisation
A dramatisation by
Margaret Busby
Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...
of ''Minty Alley'', directed by
Pam Fraser Solomon
Pam Fraser Solomon FRSA is a British producer/director of Guyanese heritage, whose work spans four decades in theatre, radio, film, television and education, winning prizes such as the Commission for Racial Equality "Race in the Media Award" in 19 ...
(with a cast that included
Doña Croll
Doña Croll (born 29 August 1953) is a Jamaican-born British actress. She is best known for her roles in British television soap opera playing Pearl McHugh in Channel 5's ''Family Affairs'', Vera Corrigan in the BBC Vera Corrigan ''Doctors'', a ...
,
Angela Wynter
Angela Wynter is a Jamaican-British actress. She is known for her role as Yolande Trueman in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', appearing from 2003 to 2008, with a guest appearance in 2017. In 2021, she joined the cast of the BBC soap opera ''Do ...
,
Martina Laird
Martina Laird (born 1971) is a Trinidadian British actress, director and acting teacher.
Early life and education
Martina Laird was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1971. Her interest in Drama began early, when she was seven years old, an ...
,
Nina Wadia
Nina Wadia (born 18 December 1968) is a British actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy ''Still Open All Hours'', and for st ...
, Julian Francis,
Geff Francis
Geffrey "Geff" Francis (born 1964), best known as Geff Francis, is a British actor who portrayed Lynford, a hoodlum, in the 1988 drama film ''For Queen and Country''. In 1986 he appeared as the title character in Channel Four's ''Zastrozzi, A R ...
, Vivienne Rochester and
Burt Caesar
Burt Caesar is a British actor, broadcaster and director for stage and television, who was born in St Kitts and migrated to England with his family as a child. ), was first broadcast on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
on 12 June 1998, winning a
Commission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. The commission was established in 1976, and disbanded in 2007 when its ...
(CRE) "Race in the Media Award" in 1999.
"Non Traditional Channels – A Publishing and Lit Conversation — Contributor Biographies"
''Sable LitMag'', 27 November 2012.
Editions
* 1936 – London: Secker & Warburg
Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press.
History
Secker & Warburg
Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
* 1971 – London: New Beacon Books
New Beacon Books is a British publishing house, bookshop, and international book service that specializes in Black British, Caribbean, African, African-American and Asian literature. Founded in 1966 by John La Rose and Sarah White, it was the fi ...
(paperback),
* 1997 – Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi
The University Press of Mississippi, founded in 1970, is a publisher that is sponsored by the eight state universities in Mississippi.
Universities
* Alcorn State University
*Delta State University
*Jackson State University
*Mississippi State U ...
(paperback),
* 2021 – London: Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[bachelor
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymo ...]
of Creole descent.
*Ella, Haynes' house servant
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
.
*Alice Rouse, the owner of No. 2 Minty Alley, where Haynes eventually resides.
*McCarthy Benoit, Mrs. Rouse's womanising boyfriend.
*Nurse Jackson, the lodger who develops an affair with Mr. Benoit.
*Sonny, the nurse's son.
*Philomen, an East Indian servant lady.
*Wilhelmina, another servant lady.
*Miss Atwell, a resident of No. 2 who is in defensive confinement.
*Boyce, a friend of Haynes.
*Carritt, an elder book dealer.
*Thomas Inniss (aka Aucher), a household worker who has been a thief.
*Maisie, Mrs. Rouse's niece who lives in Minty Alley.
Plot
Set in Port of Spain
Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...
, Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, the book opens with Mr. Haynes deciding to rent part of a house situated nearby on the title street—a very short alley
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...
. His mother has died, and he is trying to make the best out of an otherwise dull life. Figuring out how to pay for the house, he arrives there the following day, meeting Maisie and her aunt, Mrs. Rouse, who has a small room to let. Haynes agrees to use it after hearing of the conditions and the price— $2.50.
Early next morning, Haynes begins transferring his goods to his new home. Back at that residence, he is introduced to his new landlord, Mr. Benoit.
On the first Saturday evening of his stay, he meets a sick Miss Atwell and an East Indian servant named Philomen, as well as a cake-seller named John. Later on, Mrs. Rouse arrives with her new lodger, a nurse named Jackson, and the rest in the house engage in a lot of conversation soon after.
Yet after such good times, Haynes is bored and wants to move out of No. 2 in a month, in which case he will leave the rest up to Ella. The next morning, while Rouse and niece are attending Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
, he secretly encounters a brief love affair between Benoit and the lodger nurse. As days go by, that nurse becomes the dominant factor of life at No. 2, keeping the entire house in shape.
One morning, a stay-at-home Haynes witnesses Sonny, Nurse Jackson's son, being beaten by the landlord over his prize for winning a marbles
A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...
game: a kiss for his opponent, Maisie. After a caning from the nurse, he is chased by her all the way to Haynes’ room, where he hides from her. Then, as she calls him out like she would a dog, Haynes misses his chance to save Sonny, who is intent on staying with him for protection. But upon a further caning by Sonny's mother, the bachelor decides he must move back to Ella, even with an injured foot.
That evening, the nurse comes by to check on his foot and have it treated—the first of such a series of twice-daily visits. Only some days later does his foot become any better.
Another few days pass, and the people at No. 2 are preparing to avoid the local bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
and Mr. Brown from visiting their home. Luckily, both are nowhere to be seen; but word of the two crops up in their conversations for days afterward.
Because of a fight between her and Mrs. Rouse, the nurse soon leaves the house. Troubled times thus begin herein: another morning later, a policeman asks for Aucher, who turns out to be a thief; and quarrels between Benoit and Mrs. Rouse erupt for nights at a time, all due to the nurse's departure and her love for the landlord. Even the two try to murder each other, and for that action Haynes decides strongly to move out.
Surprisingly, Nurse Jackson passes her examinations, thanks partly to Benoit's help, but nothing more than her affair with the landlord is talked of for days at No. 2. More surprisingly, they both have been engaged, and news of their romance and upcoming marriage crops up regularly soon after.
Their wedding takes place at nine on a Sunday morning, at the start of the month, but the people at the house are getting impatient about Miss Atwell's arrival from the ceremony. When she returns at 11, she tells them everything that happened during that ceremony (the centre of attention being the nurse's expensive white fugi dress).
Later on, No. 2 is put up for mortgage
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
, but as an ailing Mrs. Rouse is warned by Haynes, it will take eight years before the house can fully be paid off, even with her cake business on the decline. With Mrs. Rouse, Haynes learns how much the house has fared from the time it was built at the start of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Then, upon visiting her, he learns of Ella's sickness and that a friend will replace her once she is taken to her mother in the country.
December comes, and Haynes, meeting Benoit for the first time since he married the nurse, is nervous to see how much he has changed. It is rumoured that things have not been going well for the couple, and the landlord has had no new job out of this.
In spite of their recent woes, Christmas goes on cheerfully for the residents of the house. During the holiday, a freed Aucher helps the rest of them as they work harder than ever to keep No. 2 clean, while Haynes decides to spend some time at the seaside for his health's sake.
On Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...
, the company at the house, Haynes included, delight themselves with an enjoyable lunch, after which Miss Atwell honours Haynes in a short speech. The bachelor's reply turns out to be "the speech of his life".
On New Year's Eve, Miss Atwell pays Haynes a visit, telling him Ella is still sick. On the New Year's holiday the following day, he pays Mrs. Rouse $20 in advance (a plan he had made with Maisie) for the sake of remaining at the house via boarding.
Three days later, he learns of the now-recovered headmistress's return to town, even though she has not come to No. 2, because Haynes feels that he does not want her. For another two or three days, he ponders on what has recently come of him.
In the midst of a quarrel between Rouse and niece, over Haynes' alienation from Ella, the bachelor is refunded his boarding fee. Now he wants to strike out vulgarly against them both.
Late one afternoon, while on a tramcar in town, Haynes encounters the nurse being arrested for stealing clothes. He hurries home to tell everyone at No. 2 about it, but all of them are hearing Philomen's account of the event as he arrives. Then Haynes reads a letter from Nurse Jackson addressed to Rouse, in which the nurse defames Rouse's past relationship with Benoit.
With Jackson on bail, gloom hangs over No. 2 once again. On the morning of her trial, everyone but Aucher is in Court to hear of the nurse's fate: she is fined £15 or three months in prison. (This is the last time Haynes will ever see her again in person.) Later, due to accusations about her husband living with another woman, the nurse and her son leave for the United States.
After the case, Haynes finds a friend—and lover—in Rouse's niece. But she wants to avoid the presence of her aunt's secret admirer, Sgt. Parkes (a father of six), for fear of a do-over of Rouse's former affairs with Benoit. She does so on the Friday morning of his visit, and for this, Haynes gets upset over Maisie. Later that afternoon, Mrs. Rouse tells him, in distaste, that Benoit has returned by surprise; and, at dusk, Aucher tells them the sergeant (whom Rouse is not interested in seeing) has come back.
For the next several weeks, Mrs. Rouse tries not to let her house be sold, without Mr. Rojas' help, to a woman who is willing to buy the property.
One day, nearly a year after his debut at No. 2, Haynes stunningly finds the major compartments of the kitchen have moved to outside for the sake of convenience. Then, he discovers just how much Philomen has changed in weight and appearance. This is due to heavy work and a love affair with Sugedo, which makes Maisie develop hatred for the servant. To avoid further trouble with Rouse, she is forced to move out of her home and live with her new employer, Gomes. A tearful farewell takes place at No. 2, whence Mrs. Rouse also cries for her before she leaves; Haynes is a part of it as well.
Just when life at No. 2 begins anew without Philomen, so its trials and tribulations resume: Maisie and some others are soon accused by Mrs. Rouse for being involved in a string of petty
Petty may refer to:
People
* Bruce Petty (born 1929), Australian political satirist and cartoonist
* Bryce Petty (born 1991), American football player
* Dini Petty (born 1945), Canadian television and radio host
* Eric D. Petty (born 1954), Amer ...
thefts, rising by the score. It comes to a climax one Sunday morning when Mrs. Rouse finds a dollar bill belonging to Haynes, with her niece unwilling to admit to this theft. She disappears from Haynes' sight the rest of the day.
After spending a worry-free August by the seaside while on leave, Haynes returns to No. 2 on the final day of the month—a rainy Sunday—and finds out that nothing has changed. As Mrs. Rouse calls for Maisie, right before Haynes and a few lodgers, the niece speaks out against her being treated by her aunt, and also against her aunt's past love life with Benoit.
Thus the ultimate quarrel between the two ensues on a now-muddy yard, during which Mrs. Rouse throws away all of her niece's goods out into the mire. Supporting his now almost-defeated lover, Haynes is angry at her aunt, while the niece, in revenge, ruins some of her aunt's attire amid her own outfits.
Angry at Mrs. Rouse, she sneaks away from the rest of the lodgers. Four nights later, Haynes meets her at a nearby park for the last time; she tells the bachelor of her plans for New York City. Another two days pass before she heads to the Big Apple by boat. Life at No. 2, for Haynes, will never be the same without her, and thus he cannot afford to stay there.
As September comes to an end, Rouse informs him that the former landlord has suffered a stroke, which she is not sorry to see him get. Both head to the Government Hospital that Sunday night to make sure he is there, since they are unable to visit him. The two of them leave, walking up the street—Rouse to her church for prayers, and Haynes to No. 2, where he and Miss Atwell discuss about Benoit's past and present. Rouse joins them both after her session has finished.
Late that same night, Haynes decides that he should end his life at the house, for all the effects that Maisie's immigration has left on him. Next morning, 22 September, he wakes up uneasily to the news of McCarthy Benoit's death: this event, in turn, causes regular life at No. 2 to come to an end.
Entering October, Haynes finds new lodgings with Ella's help, and this leaves Rouse and Atwell as the caretakers of the house before it can legally be sold. (Gomes aynes' new neighbourand Mr. Rojas are taking over Rouse's declining cake business.)
Though his visits are less frequent in time to come, bachelor Haynes often passes by No. 2, thinking of all that used to happen there. At the end of the novel, a family of five—husband, wife and three children—happen to be its new residents.
Reception
Writing in ''Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' on the 80th anniversary of ''Minty Alley''s publication, Gregory McNamee says: "In that complex though short novel, James condenses a whole world of class and ethnic differences within the short street for which the book is named, with servants and working people scrambling to make a living while the somewhat better-off residents of the alley feud and scheme among themselves. No matter what station they hold, the people of Minty Alley do best when they work together. They all agree, though, that elsewhere is better than there, the best elsewhere of all lying far over the horizon at the end of the packet steamer route to New York City."
References
External links
*
*Eric Keenaghan
{{"'His Eyes Almost Fell through the Crease': Using Voyeurism and Sexuality to Ascertain the Modernist Attributes of C.L.R. James's ''Minty Alley''"
A study of the book's modernist attributes, 1998.
"In Teaching C.L.R. James' ''Minty Alley'': Tricksters, Intellectuals and the Folk".
"Minty Alley"
at Every Cook Can Govern: Documenting the life, impact & works of CLR James.
* D. Elliott Parris
''Urgent Tasks'' Number 12, Summer 1981.
1936 debut novels
1936 novels
Books by C. L. R. James
Novels set in Trinidad and Tobago
Secker & Warburg books
Trinidad and Tobago novels