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Part of
A Comparative Literary History of Modern Slavery: The Atlantic world and beyond
Edited by Karen-Margrethe Simonsen, Madeleine Dobie and Mads Anders Baggesgaard
[Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages XXXVII] 2025
► pp. 188–213

Chapter 11
Contemporary Scandinavian colonial-historical fiction

Slavery and exceptional whiteness

The chapter examines a body of twelve historical novels published 2015–2021 about Scandinavian colonialism and slavery in West Africa and the Caribbean, serving as a case study of the current state of the colonial imaginary in Scandinavia as seen from the perspective of the national majorities. Many of the common features of the examined novels can be traced back to a continuation of the structuring of Atlantic history according to a national paradigm: the emphasis on certain events and geographies, the privileging of the national language, and the reiteration of persistent national narratives in the literary and public discourse on Scandinavian colonialism. Among these narratives are exceptionalist claims of the comparatively marginal, innocent, or benevolent character of Scandinavian involvement in colonization, enslavement, and other forms of exploitation based on power imbalances. How does contemporary fiction set in the colonial era position itself in relation to the renewed public interest in the colonial past, to other artistic projects addressing past and present transoceanic entanglements, and to current patterns of the memorialization of Atlantic history?
Keywords: colonial-historical novels, contemporary Scandinavian literature, slavery, colonialism, whiteness, exceptionalism, historical fiction, maritime fiction, Caribbean, Black Atlantic, White Atlantic
Article outline
  • Scandinavian colonialism and Atlantic history in research, art and literature
  • White Atlantic and Black Atlantic
  • Colonial-historical novels 2015–2021
  • Sources and research
  • Colonial-historical fiction and the colonial past
  • Colonial-historical fiction as Bildungsroman
  • Coming-of-age in times of slavery
  • Young Scandinavian men and the fantasy of colorblind innocence
  • Young Scandinavian women, race and family ties
  • Women of color and questions of agency
  • Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
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