The Governor's Story
Subtitle The Authorised Biography of Dame Hilda Bynoe
By Merle Collins
Published by
Peepal Tree Press
ISBN 978-1845232245
Winter 2013
Synopsis
One of the very first local governors in the Caribbean in the years
before independence, and the first woman—and black woman, at that—to be
appointed governor anywhere in the Commonwealth, Dr. Hilda Bynoe’s
appointment placed her at the heart of local, regional, and
international change, and later of conflict. This biography, the only
authorized account of Bynoe’s life, probes beyond the governor’s story
for its antecedents and its meaning in a broader Caribbean context. Based on interviews with Bynoe herself, Merle Collins—a native Grenadian
who was involved in the events that ultimately led to the governor’s
resignation, due to the latter’s ties to Premier Eric Gairy and his
repression of political opposition—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. In doing so, Collins provides an
insightful portrayal, not only of an exceptional woman, but also of the
emergence of an aspiring working class into a new Caribbean middle
class. This biography, which ably blends local knowledge, empathetic
identification, narrative skills, and analytical questioning, serves as
an important record of the political history of Grenada.
Author's Biography
Merle Collins is a professor of comparative literature and
English at the University of Maryland. She is the author of the poetry
collections Because the Dawn Breaks and Rotten Pomerack, the novels Angel and The Colour of Forgetting, and the short story collection Rain Darling. Her critical works have appeared in From My Guy to Sci-Fi: Genre and Women's Writing in the Postmodern World and Slavery and Abolition. Her literary work has appeared in Penguin Modern Poets Volume 8 and The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories.