Publisher Description

This book looks at imperial heroes from behind the legends of a dozen major colonial figures on both sides of the Channel, revisiting the familiar stories from a radically new angle. It demonstrates how their reputations were made over several decades, and depicts the milieus and individuals who supported, and benefited from, these heroic stories. -- .

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From David Livingstone to Charles de Foucauld, from Pierre Savorgan de Brazza to General Gordon, from the 'Sirdar' Kitchener to Jean-Baptiste Marchand, imperial heroes came to captivate the imagination of their contemporaries. These standard-bearers of the 'civilising mission', armed with Bible or rifle, often both, became widely celebrated in their metropoles, with their exploits splashed across the front pages of the penny press, inspiring generations of biographers, painters and, later, film-makers. Coinciding with the advent of 'New Journalism', they embodied the symbolic implementation of the colonial project and performed a highly mythologised meeting between conquerors and conquered, nurturing imperial pride. Berny S

Author Biography

Berny Sèbe is Lecturer in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies at the University of Birmingham

Table of Contents

General Editor's introduction
Introduction
I: Contexts
1. The emergence of a new type of hero: British and French contexts
2. Imperial heroes and the market I: the written world
3. Imperial heroes and the market II: the audiovisual world
II: Uses
4. Imperial heroes and domestic politics
5. Cross-Channel Entente? The values embodied by imperial heroes
III: Case studies
6. The creation of the Marchand legend, 1895–1906
7. George Warrington Steevens, Blackwood Publishers and the making of 'With Kitchener to Khartoum'
Conclusion
Biographical sketches
Index

Review

In this superbly researched and elegantly written book, Sèbe has opened a vital new chapter in the cultural history of empire, and also helped to explain why it was often so difficult to control headstrong "men on the spot". And by comparing the practices of this "hero-making" industry in Britain and France, he has made an important contribution to the wider scholarship on Europe's imperialisms.'
John Darwin, University of Oxford

'Essential reading for all students and scholars of colonial history. Sèbe is sensitive to the very different French and British contexts of the individuals he presents, but the overall impact of his study lies in its insightful delineation of the phenomenon of "celebrity colonialism". This book constitutes a timely intervention in debates about the complex interactions between European and African histories.'
Charles Forsdick, University of Liverpool

'Berny Sèbe has written an original and imaginative work. This stimulating and resourceful book penetrates the reality of myth-building in the colonial era.'
Wm. Roger Louis, University of Texas at Austin

'Brilliantly combines the history of mentalities and quantitative history to reveal the mediated nature of, and political alchemy behind, these figures at the heart of the "imperial mindset" of Britain and France.'
Jacques Frémeaux, University of Paris-Sorbonne


The recently released book is thoroughly recommended. It provides new insights into the European colonial and press history and shines through the diversity of its sources, is clearly structured and written pleasantly.

'Undoubtedly a highly significant and elegantly written work.'
Thomas Sharp, Oxford Brookes University, War in History 24 (1)

'The work is a first-class contribution to understanding, and will hopefully open the way for more such comparative analyses. '
John Mullen, University of Rouen, Quaderna

'The broad temporal perspective and the multiplicity of different imperial heroes analysed make this study both richly detailed and highly pertinent to an array of different scholarly questions and fields. Thus, it should be recommended to students and scholars not only of imperial history, but also of Franco-British relations, French studies, cultural history and the history of popular culture.'
Joanna Warson, University of Portsmouth, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, May 2014

'Berny Sèbe has written an excellent comparative account of the rise to prominence
in Britain and France of male colonial figures in the late nineteenth century and their
continued relevance into the interwar years….Sèbe's book is very good at explaining how the reputations of key imperial figures were established, and on providing the deep context to the creation of national reputations at this time.'
Stephen Heathorn, McMaster University, French History, January 2016

'Its archival richness and its refreshing reliance on literary history make it not only a balanced, but also a finely textured, interdisciplinary piece of scholarship.'
Priyasha Mukhopadhyay, University of Oxford, Interventions International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, July 2015

'This book is one of the (too) few attempts at comparing French and British late 19thand early 20th-century imperialisms. The relative scarcity of relevant comparative studies of modern imperialisms is understandable. Such an approach requires both proficiency in two separate national historiographies and knowledge of two very different sets of archival records. Berny Sèbe was able to overcome these obstacles in his detailed study of the development of the imperial hero from the 1870s to the late 1930s without falling into the trap of generalization or mere juxtaposition. This fruitful cultural history of colonialism focuses in particular on the connection between the advent of High Imperialism and the rise of mass culture in the last decades of the 19th century. This work—the culmination of a years-long research project supervised by John G. Darwin—was therefore logically published in 'Studies in Imperialism' (Manchester UP). John Mackenzie was the general editor for that series for many years. Sèbe's examination of colonial heroes owes a great deal to his well-known works on imperial culture.'
Daniel Foliard, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense, Cahiers victoriens et Édouardiens 82, Autumn 2015

'This well-researched book is an essential contribution to the history of empire and will be of great use to students and scholars of colonial history.'
Kelsey Suggitt, University of Portsmouth, Modern and Contemporary France March 2016

'This book is a major addition to reputation studies and to imperial history. The author has clear command over the political contexts in Britain and France from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century: there is much here that will provoke established scholars to think about popular imperialism and imperialist iconsin new ways. But Sèbe's work is also accessible to those new to the field, offering, for instance, a helpful appendix of short biographies of the keyfigures he discusses. Sèbe paves the way for future research on imperial myth-making, having successfully established the importance of the heroic legend to both British and French imperial culture.'
Justin D.Livingstone, Queen's University Belfast, HER, 556, October 2017

'Heroic Imperialistsin Africa stands at the crossroads between imperial, cultural, publishing and even literary history. It opens new perspectives and undoubtedly deserves to be widely read.'
Daniel Follard, Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens, Vol 82, Autumn 2015 -- .

Promotional

This book looks at imperial heroes from behind the legends of a dozen major colonial figures on both sides of the Channel, revisiting the familiar stories under a radically new angle. It demonstrates how their reputations were made over several decades, and depicts the milieus and individuals who supported, and benefited from, these heroic stories.

Long Description

From the height of 'New Imperialism' until the Second World War, three generations of heroes of the British and French empires in Africa were selected, manufactured and packaged for consumption by a metropolitan public eager to discover new horizons and to find comfort in the concept of a 'civilising mission'. This book looks at imperial heroism by examining the legends of a dozen major colonial figures on both sides of the Channel, revisiting the familiar stories of Livingstone, Gordon and Kitchener from a radically new angle, and throwing light on their French counterparts, often less famous in the Anglophone world but certainly equally fascinating.

Review Text

This eloquent and impressive study analyses the mergence of imperial heros in Britain and France throughout the era of high imperialism. From a broad chronological standpoint, this work considers a variety of factors that permitted leading figures in African conquest and colonisation - including explorers, missionaries and military men - to gain celebrity status. It addresses the circumstances in Europe that permitted the growing popularity of a new tpye of hero, the process by which the reputations of imperial heroes were made, promoted, disseminated and commodified, and the purpose that imperial heroes served at home and in the colonies.This work provides new insight into the ways in which empire was represented and received in the colonial metropoles and how this mediated encounter between Europeans and African shaped European national identities. Particularly novel is its emphasis on the capitalist, commercial drive underpinning the spread of popular imperialism Europe. The comparative Franco-British perspective is another especially illutrative dimension of this study.As such, this work is an important contribution to our knowledge of the intricacies of Anglo-French interaction and crocc-cultural dissemination in the age of imperialism and beyond. The broad temporal perspectice and the multiplicity of different imperial heroes analysed make this study both richly detailed and highly pertinent to an array of different scholarly questions and fields. Thus, it should be recommended to students and scholars not only of imperial history, but also of Franco-British relations, French studies, cultural history and the history of popular culture.Joanna Warson, University of PortsmouthThe Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, May 2014

Review Quote

"In this superbly researched and elegantly written book, Sbe has opened a vital new chapter in the cultural history of empire, and also helped to explain why it was often so difficult to control headstrong ''men on the spot''....by comparing the practices of this ''hero-making'' industry in Britain and France, he has made an important contribution to the wider scholarship on Europe''s imperialisms." -- John Darwin, University of Oxford "Essential reading for all students and scholars of colonial history. Sbe is sensitive to the very different French and British contexts of the individuals he presents, but the overall impact of his study lies in its insightful delineation of the phenomenon of ''celebrity colonialism''. This book constitutes a timely intervention in debates about the complex interactions between European and African histories." -- Charles Forsdick, University of Liverpool Berny Sbe has written an original and imaginative work. This stimulating and resourceful book penetrates the reality of myth-building in the colonial era. -- Wm. Roger Louis, University of Texas at Austin "It is a fascinating volume...the work is a first-class contribution to understanding, and will hopefully open the way for more such comparative analyses." - John Mullen is Professor of British Studies at the University of Rouen, Quaderna "Berny Sbe has written an excellent comparative account of the rise to prominence in Britain and France of male colonial figures in the late nineteenth century and their continued relevance into the interwar years." - STEPHEN HEATHORN , McMaster University, French History, (2016) "Its archival richness and its refreshing reliance on literary history make it not only a balanced, but also a finely textured, interdisciplinary piece of scholarship." - PRIYASHA MUKHOPADHYAY, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, UK, Interventions International Journal of Postcolonial Studies "Undoubtedly a highly significant and elegantly written work". - War in History 24 (1) Thomas Sharp, Oxford Brookes University "This book is one of the (too) few attempts at comparing French and British late 19thand early 20th-century imperialisms. The relative scarcity of relevant comparative studies of modern imperialisms is understandable. Such an approach requires both proficiency in two separate national historiographies and knowledge of two very different sets of archival records." - Daniel Foliard, Universit Paris Ouest Nanterre la Dfense, Cahiers victoriens et douardiens 82, Autumn 2015 "Berny Sbe has written an excellent comparative account of the rise to prominence in Britain and France of male colonial figures in the late nineteenth century and their continued relevance into the interwar years...Sbe''s book is very good at explaining how the reputations of key imperial figures were established, and on providing the deep context to the creation of national reputations at this time." - Stephen Heathorn, McMaster University, French History, January 2016 "The broad temporal perspective and the multiplicity of different imperial heroes analysed make this study both richly detailed and highly pertinent to an array of different scholarly questions and fields. Thus, it should be recommended to students and scholars not only of imperial history, but also of Franco-British relations, French studies, cultural history and the history of popular culture." - Joanna Warson, University of Portsmouth, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, May 2014 "This well-researched book is an essential contribution to the history of empire and will be of great use to students and scholars of colonial history." - Kelsey Suggitt, University of Portsmouth, Modern and Contemporary France March 2016 "This book is a major addition to reputation studies and to imperial history. The author has clear command over the political contexts in Britain and France from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century: there is much here that will provoke established scholars to think about popular imperialism and imperialist icons in new ways. But Sbe''s work is also accessible to those new to the field, offering, for instance, a helpful appendix of short biographies of the key figures he discusses. Sbe paves the way for future research on imperial myth-making, having successfully established the importance of the heroic legend to both British and French imperial culture." Justin D. Livingstone, Queen''s University Belfast, HER, 556, October 2017 "Heroic Imperialists in Africa stands at the crossroads between imperial, cultural, publishing and even literary history. It opens new perspectives and undoubtedly deserves to be widely read." Daniel Follard, Cahiers victoriens et douardiens, Vol 82, Autumn 2015

Description for Sales People

Looks at the reputations of imperial heroes from 'behind the scenes', revealing the depth of imperial sentiment in British and French metropolitan culturesOffers a fresh insight into the mechanisms that allowed these 'heroic legends' to reach such status and, in many cases, to survive the radical shift of values that accompanied the end of European empiresIncludes a comparative dimension, examining the French and British contexts togetherDraws upon visual sources and includes illustrations

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