Evelyn O'Callaghan is a senior lecturer in English at the University of the West Indies, Barbados. Her publications include Woman Version: Theoretical Approaches to West Indian Fiction by Women (1993). She recently edited an early Antiguan novel, With Silent Tread by Frieda Cassin (2002).

'The scope and depth of this book which covers much historical and social ground make it essential reading for students and academics.' - Michel Fabre, Revue AFRAM Review

• 1. Introduction 2. Defamiliarizing 'The Mistress':Representations of White Women in the West Indies 3. 'This is Another World':Travel Narratives, Women and the Construction of Tropical Landscape 4. A Female 'El Dorado' 5. Narratives of Tainted Empire 6. Colonial Discourse and the Subaltern's Voice