Becka's Buckra Baby

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Beckas Buckra Baby (1904) is a novel by Thomas MacDermot. Published under his pseudonym Tom Redcam by the All Jamaica Library, Beckas Buckra Baby is a tragic story of race and class set in Jamaica. Understated and ironic, the novel critiques the social conditions of Jamaica under British colonialism. Mixing English with patois, MacDermot sheds light on the disparities between the islands black and white communities, crafting a story now recognized as the beginning of modern Caribbean literature. Noel Maud Bronvola is peculiar. Her peculiar name, chosen by a peculiar father, has always set her apart. When her father dies, Noel chooses to remember him by his commitment to the peopledespite widespread corruption, he chose to act honorably and spent years waiting for a promotion within the government that would never come. In his memory, Noel dedicates herself to helping others. She gets an education, becomes a teacher, and develops personal relationships with her young students from a poor black neighborhood in Kingston. One day, struggling with her desire to get married, she decides to present a gift to one of her students. Just before Christmastime, Noel brings a doll to Beckas mother, who politely accepts a toy her daughter will have no time to play with. Neither of them could predict the tragedy to come. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Thomas MacDermots Beckas Buckra Baby is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

Author Bio

Thomas MacDermot (1870-1933) was a Jamaican poet, novelist, and newspaper editor. Born in Clarendon Parish, he was raised in a family of five children in Trelawny. After receiving his education at Falmouth Academy and at the Church of England Grammar School in Kingston, he remained in the capital to teach and become a journalist. Starting at The Jamaica Post and The Daily Gleaner, he moved to the Jamaica Times, where he would serve as editor for twenty years. In 1899, he launched a popular short story contest for young writers, helping further the careers of famed poet Claude McKay and journalist H. G. de Lisser. By 1903, he established All Jamaica Library, a low-cost series of short fiction by Jamaican authors. MacDermot also wrote his own works of fiction under the anagrammatic penname "Tom Redcam." Becka's Buckra Baby (1903) is considered a landmark of Jamaican literature and helped distinguish the Caribbean as a hotspot for modern writing. Following his death in England, MacDermot was posthumously appointed Jamaica's first Poet Laureate.