A Tourist in Africa - Classic Text | Alexandria
A Tourist in Africa (1960)
A Tourist in Africa represents Evelyn Waugh's final published travelogue, chronicling his journey through British East Africa (modern-day Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar) in 1959. The work stands as both a personal memoir and a poignant commentary on the twilight of British colonial rule in Africa, written by one of the 20th century's most distinguished yet controversial English novelists.
The book emerged during a pivotal historical moment, as African nations stood on the precipice of independence. Waugh, aged 56 and increasingly disillusioned with the modern world, embarked on this journey partly to revisit locations he had first encountered in the 1930s during research for his novel Remote People (1931). His expedition was funded by Standard Bank, which commissioned him to write about their centenary celebrations - a commercial arrangement that adds an intriguing layer to the work's context and perspective.
The narrative weaves together sharp observations, cultural critique, and characteristically acidic wit, though many critics note a marked shift from the savage satire of his earlier travel writings toward a more elegiac tone. Waugh's descriptions of changing African landscapes and societies reflect both his conservative political stance and his growing sense of displacement in a rapidly decolonizing world. The text is particularly notable for its complex, often contradictory attitudes toward modernization, preservation, and cultural change in Africa.
Despite its problematic colonial perspectives, A Tourist in Africa remains significant for its vivid portrayal of a continent in transition and its unintended documentation of the end of an era. Modern readers find in it a fascinating, if uncomfortable, window into both the mindset of Britain's literary elite during decolonization and the complex social dynamics of late-colonial Africa. The work continues to provoke discussion among scholars of post-colonial literature and serves as a compelling case study in how travel writing can simultaneously reveal and obscure cultural truths. Its enduring relevance lies not just in its literary merit, but in how it prompts us to question our own assumptions about travel, cultural authority, and the nature of bearing witness to historical change.