The Governor's Story: The authorised biography of Dame Hilda Bynoe
This is a richly contextualised and reflective biography of an important Caribbean woman. Dr Hilda Bynoe was appointed in 1968, as one of the very first local governors in the Caribbean in the years just before formal independence, and the first woman, and black woman, to be appointed a governor anywhere in the Commonwealth. All previous governors had been white, male and British.
Price
£9.99
Author(s)
Merle Collins
ISBN number
9781845232245
Pages
157
Price
£9.99
Classification
Biography
Country setting
Trinidad and Tobago
Grenada
United Kingdom
Publication date
05 Aug 2013

The circumstances of her governorship in Grenada placed her at the heart of local, regional and international change, and later of conflict. Her appointment was recommended by the Premier Eric Gairy, whose genuine concern to advance women politically was not matched by his commitment to the democratic rights of opposition parties. And though Hilda Bynoe, known in her main career as a caring and socially-engaged doctor, was generally a popular figure, her inevitable but coincidental connection with the Gairy government and its repressive treatment of the radical New Jewel opposition, made her the target of opposition criticism. As a result, she chose to resign.

This is the bare bones of the Governor’s story, but Merle Collins probes beyond it for its antecedents and its meaning in a broader Caribbean context. Based on interviews with Dame Hilda, Merle Collins explores the meaning of ancestry, family, the small nation state and regional identities, intra- and extra-Caribbean migration, class and race in the formation of Dr Bynoe’s conception of her role. It provides an insightful portrayal of not just an exceptional woman, but the emergence of an aspiring working class into a new Caribbean middle class. It adds to the picture of the education of that class – mostly in the UK – in the 1940s and 50s, but one so far mainly told from a male perspective.

Merle Collins is uniquely equipped to write this biography. As a Grenadian intimately involved in the events that led to Dr Bynoe’s resignation, as a black woman, and as a novelist and academic, she is able to bring an effective blend of local knowledge, empathetic identification, narrative skills and analytical questioning to her task.

Merle Collins is Grenadian. She is the author of two novels, a collection of short stories and two previous collections of poetry. She teaches Caribbean literature at the University of Maryland.

Variations
Merle Collins photo copyright Merissa Collins

Merle Collins

Merle Collins was born in Aruba to Grenadian parents who returned to Grenada soon after her birth. During the period of the Grenada Revolution, she served as a coordinator for research on Latin America and the Caribbean for the Government of Grenada. She left Grenada in 1983. The author of three novels, a collection of short stories and three collections of poetry, she has recently retired from teaching Caribbean Literature at the University of Maryland.
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