"Prospero's Daughter" is a loose retelling of William Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest," set in a leper colony off the coast of the Caribbean island of Trinidad. The novel follows the story of Virginia, a fifteen-year-old English girl, whose father falsely accuses the mixed-race boy she loves of rape.
The book also introduces the character of Dr. Peter Gardiner, an English doctor in the 1940s, who conducts controversial experiments on human cadavers with the aim of growing human organs and body parts in a laboratory. Dr. Gardiner is loosely inspired by Prospero, the vengeful and megalomaniacal sorcerer in Shakespeare's play, who seeks to regain his position as Duke of Milan after being exiled by his brother.
In "Prospero's Daughter," Elizabeth Nunez intertwines themes of race, colonialism, identity, and power dynamics against the backdrop of the leper colony and the characters' personal struggles. The novel explores the complexities of relationships, the consequences of deception and betrayal, and the pursuit of redemption and justice.
By reimagining "The Tempest" in a Caribbean setting and incorporating themes relevant to the region, Elizabeth Nunez provides a unique perspective and narrative that explores the legacies of colonialism and the intersections of race, class, and power.
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