A House With no Angels and Into the Basement : a reflection on A House With no Angels

• Main Author: Amaye, Linda Omamuli
• Published: Lancaster University 2012
• Subjects: 823.92
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.664257

A House With No Angels is a novel that is narrated by three women: Ade, Elizabeth and Kutes. Following the death of Peter they arrange to travel to Nigeria to bury him. However, his death has sparked an array of emotions that each woman works through, culminating in revelations that shake them. Set against a political backdrop from the 5th Pan African Conference in 1945, to the black power movement and current day asylum, each of the women maps out her own story. This thesis offers an insight into the ways in which research influenced creation of the novel, A House U7ith No Angels, and charts the changes in direction as the creative process continued through drafting. The Introduction gives an overview of the novel and the process of decision making involved. Chapter One examines the research element of the novel, including a brief exploration of the politics of West Africa in the post-World War II years, the British working class movement and Black British Feminism in the '70s and '80s. Chapter Two engages with the points of view of the narrative and the historical perspectives of the novel. Chapter Three explores how I developed the language for each of the characters and what this portrays. Chapter Four considers space, time and memory within the novel, integrating personal memory as a focus for developing the story. The Conclusion looks at the novel as practice-based research and explores the question of authenticity.