ABSTRACT
The vast majority of literary references to empire refer to only two of Britain’s imperial outposts: India and Africa. Although Britain’s empire extended to the Caribbean, to South America, and to Southeast Asia, it was primarily India and Africa that captured the imaginations of writers for both children and adults. These countries, although real geographic places on the map, often functioned as fantasy lands and magical kingdoms in children’s fiction. What Africa and India and other foreign territories hold out for childrenand for adults as well-is the possibility of adventure. Because Britain had an empire, Britons had relatively easy access to exotic lands that promised adventure, romance, and riches beyond belief to those who chose to venture beyond England’s shores. The story of empire is often presented as a kind of fairy tale, in which the valiant but unrecognized hero travels to strange realms, overcomes obstacles and villains, all in order to reach the pot of gold (or ivory, or spices, or oil, or rubber, or diamonds) at the end.
