City of Spades (Twentieth Century Classics)

Colin MacInnes was a successful British author from a literary family, who published several well-known novels such as To the Victors the Spoils and Absolute Beginners.

During the 1950s, MacInnes wrote a number of novels situated in the milieu of black immigrants. These novels bear relations with

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the novels of Sam Selvon, for instance The Lonely Londoners (1956), and the early work of V.S. Naipaul, with whom MacInnes was acquainted. McacInnes "London trilogy, comprising of the three novels City of Spades (1957), Absolute Beginners (1959) and Mr Love & Justice (1960) was published during this period, at a time when racial discrimination and bisexuality were still largely tabu. MacInnes attraction to writing about these groups stemmed from his homosexual or bisexual orientation. As he was attracted to black men en women, he came into contact with their issues, including subjects such as urban poverty, matters of race, drugs, anarchy, and "decadence".

In City of Spades, Nigerian immigrant Johnny finds himself caught up in the new ethnic subculture in 50s London. The novel is very well written, and introduces many topics and issues now commonly associated with poor, immigrant populations. There is a brooding sense of homosexuality, as the white employee of the government office cannot really explain his interest in these black men he seeks friendship with, but the matter is settled as he enters into a sexual relationship with some of the black girls.

Current literary scholarship favours the prose of ethnic minority writers over the work of Britsih authors, regarding ethnic issues as more authentic. However, it seems Colin MacInnes' work should not be overlooked.

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