Edgar Mittelholzer

Guyanese novelist (1909–1965)

Edgar Austin Mittelholzer (16 December 1909 – 6 May 1965) was a Guyanese novelist. He is the earliest professional novelist from the English speaking Caribbean. He was able to develop a readership in Europe and North America, as well as the Caribbean; and established himself in London, where he lived almost exclusively by writing fiction. He is considered "the most prolific novelist to be produced by the Caribbean". Mittelholzer committed suicide in England in 1965.

Born in New Amsterdam, British Guiana (later Guyana), Edgar Mittelholzer was the second son of William Austin Mittelholzer, a commercial clerk; and his wife Rosamond Mabel, née Leblanc, from Martinique. Born into a mixed but white passing middle class family (his forebears were Swiss German, French, British, and African Caribbean), Mittelholzer was singled out as "swarthy" and called "the Dark One" for his olive complexion. The publication of his book Corentyne Thunder signalled the birth of the novel in Guyana. It was written in 1938 when Mittelholzer was aged 29, living and working at odd jobs in New Amsterdam. The manuscript was sent to England and had a perilous existence until finally it found a publisher, Eyre & Spottiswoode, in 1941. James Ferguson has described it as "a groundbreaking novel of racial tension and passion set in rural Guyana". In December 1941, Mittelholzer left Guyana for Trinidad as a recruit in the Trinidad Royal Volunteer Naval Reserve (TRVNR) during the Second World War. He recalled his service in the TRVNR as "one of the blackest and most unpleasant interludes" in his life. Discharged on medical grounds in August 1942, he married Trinidadian Roma Halfhide in March 1942. He later left Trinidad in 1948, coming to England with his first wife and daughter.

After leaving Trinidad in 1948, Mittelholzer spent the rest of his life in England, except for three years in Barbados. he was often dismayed when the British saw him differently. The novel deals with colonial colourism and classism. In 2022, the Caribbean Modern Classics edition of the book made it onto the BBC's list for the Big Jubilee Read for Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee. During the 1950s and 60s, Mittelholzer was also among a group of West Indian writers who regularly featured on BBC's Caribbean Voices programme, including Derek Walcott, George Lamming, V. S. Naipaul, Una Marson, Sylvia Wynter and Louise Bennett. During this time, he also travelled to Canada, spent three years in Barbados, and had four more children with Roma Halfhide. He eventually divorced his first wife in 1959. In 1962, they had a son (Mittelholzer's fifth child overall). He died the next day at Farnham Hospital.

The Edgar Mittelholzer Lecture Series was started by A. J. Seymour two years after Mittelholzer's death and then took place sporadically. It is currently delivered annually under the auspices of the Department of Culture. In the words of the Guyana Chronicle: "This memorial lecture series, like the Guyana Prize for Literature, is unique throughout the Caribbean where it is seen as a welcome acknowledgement of the arts, the artist and artistic achievement. Whenever possible, therefore, a distinguished Guyanese is identified and asked to deliver the Mittelholzer Memorial Lecture, which is viewed with distinction and the entire literary community, including scholars and academics, consider it a command appearance." In order to celebrate Edgar Mittelholzer's 100th birthday in 2009, writer, sculptor and artist Stanley Greaves hosted an event with readings and an art exhibition at the Guyana National Gallery. Greaves' own artwork was included: a series of paintings named after the Mittelholzer novel Shadows Move Among Them. Guyanese actor Marc Gomes also announced his plan to film an adaptation of Corentyne Thunder. Writing in Newsday, Keith Jardim argues that, despite his death, "Mittelholzer’s contribution to building Caribbean civilisation in his accomplished works may have just begun", pointing to a growing interest in his work among readers, academics and artists/writers. Peepal Tree Press has reissued several of his books with new introductions as part of its Caribbean Modern Classics line (beginning in 2007). Managing Editor Jeremy Poynting said of the reissued material, "I hope that our recovery of Edgar Mittelholzer’s earlier Caribbean work will reveal a much more serious and achieved writer than some of the previous criticism has suggested."

Birbalsingh, F. M., "Edgar Mittelholzer; novelist or pornographer? ", in Journal of Commonwealth Literature, no. 7 (July 1969), pp. 80–103. Cartey, Wilfred, "The rhythm of society and landscape", in New World Quarterly, Guyana Independence Issue (1966), pp. 97–104. Collymore, Frank A., "A Biographical Sketch" in Bim, vol. 10, no. 41 (June/December 1965), pp. 23–6. Cox, Juanita (ed. ), In the Eye of the Storm: Edgar Mittelholzer 1909–2009: Critical Perspectives (2024; Leeds, UK: Peepal Tree Press)
Gilkes, Michael, "The Spirit in the Bottle a reading of Mittelholzer's A Morning at the Office", in World Literature Written in English vol. 14, no. 1 (April 1965), pp. 237–52. Guckian, Patrick, "The Balance of Colour A reassessment of the work of Edgar Mittelholzer", in Jamaica Journal, vol. 4, no. 1 (March 1970), pp. 38–45. Seymour, A. J., "An Introduction to the Novels of Edgar Mittelholzer", in Kyk Over Al, vol. 8, no. 24 (December 1958), pp. 60–74. Sparer, Joyce L., "Attitudes towards 'Race' in Guyanese Literature", in Caribbean Studies, vol. 8, no. 2 (July 1968), pp. 23–63.