Danell Jones is a writer and scholar whose works have appeared in a wide variety of publications, from British academic journals to small presses. She has a PhD in literature from Columbia University and is the author of The Virginia Woolf Writers' Workshop and Desert Elegy.

Winner of the High Plains Book Award for Nonfiction

"Written with great verve, An African in Imperial London reconstructs the life of A.B.C. Merriman-Labor . . . Both he and his biographer provide a rich picture of London, particularly in his most important work . . . an enlightening account of what it meant to be black in the most powerful country in the world." -- Peter Stansky, Frances and Charles Field Professor of History, Emeritus, Stanford University

"The moving and surprising story of A.B.C. Merriman-Labor, both insider and outsider in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Africa and England, is also a compelling contemporary parable about the interaction between individuals and society."-- Edward Mendelson, Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University

Elegantly written and meticulously researched for over seven years, An African in Imperial London presents the life and times of Augustus Merriman-Labor: Sierra Leonean writer, barrister, munitions worker during the First World War, and much more besides. This is an important addition to the history of Africans in Britain."-- Hakim Adi, Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora, University of Chichester

"Historical rigor, literary skill and a deep sense of humanity pervades this splendid biography which recovers from the condescension of the past the world of Augustus Merriman-Labor."-- David Killingray, Emeritus Professor of Modern History, Goldsmiths, University of London

"A brilliant biography . . . [Jones] has given a vivid picture of London one hundred years ago."--Counterfire

"A must read."--The Sierra Leone Telegraph

"An engaging, worthwhile biography. . . . Jones uncovers the life of a historical ghost, nearly lost to the world."--Choice

"The richness and wider implications of Merriman-Labor’s life and sojourn in England come out vividly in the book because of Jones’ careful research, analytical rigor, and lively writing." -- JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORY, VIOLET SHOWERS JOHNSON (Texas A&M University)