, published in London in 1936 – eight years after its completion in Port of Spain – is Cyril Lionel Robert James’ first and only novel. Upon reflection in 1963, in

, his ground breaking discussion of the intersections between cricket, class, culture and colonialism James referred to the novel as his “prentice hand”, in anticipation of “the real magnum opus” that was to be his second novel, which never came (2013: 115).

tells the story of Haynes, a young member of Trinidad’s petite bourgeoisie who is forced, by the death of his mother and subsequent financial hardship, to take a room in a “barrack-yard” –a form of low-income housing, often overcrowded, in which tenants may have their own sleeping quarters (one private room,…

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Citation: Rodriques, Janelle. "Minty Alley". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 August 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38900, accessed 21 November 2024.]