Eldred Durosimi Jones (January 6, 1925–March 21, 2020) was a towering figure in the study of African literature, whose scholarship, institutional leadership, and editorial vision shaped the field for generations. Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Eldred Prince William Jones and Ethline Marie (Quinn) Jones, he grew up with a strong interest in education and the pursuit of knowledge. He attended CMS Grammar School before moving on to Fourah Bay College, where he graduated in 1947.
His pursuit of advanced study led him to Oxford University, where he received a degree in English Literature in 1953 and a master’s in 1959, and then to the University of Durham, where he earned a PhD in 1962. His pursuit of advanced study led him to Oxford University, where he received a degree in English Literature in 1953 and a master’s in 1959, and then to the University of Durham, where he earned a PhD in 1962. Institution and mentored numerous African scholars. His reputation as an incisive critic and clear-thinking teacher led to invitations to serve as a visiting professor at universities abroad, including the University of Toronto, the University of Sheffield, and Williams College, among others. Through these roles, he expanded the conversation about African literature to global classrooms and scholarly forums.
Perhaps his most lasting institutional contribution was the establishment of the journal African Literature Today, a forum for African writers and critics that provided a consistent and respected platform. Jones, as an editor and facilitator, contributed to the establishment of scholarly standards and the development of emerging voices across the continent and in the diaspora.
Jones, a brilliant and humane critic, investigated African representations in Western literature, as well as how African writers reshaped identity and narratives. His most notable works include The Elizabethan Image of Africa (1971), The Writing of Wole Soyinka (1973), and Othello’s Countrymen: A Study of Africa in Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (1985). In later life, he and his wife, Birdie Marjorie Pratt, co-authored The Freetown Bond: A Life under Two Flags (2012), a personal and historical memoir that addresses both family and national histories.
Honours were bestowed in recognition of a lifetime of service and insight: Jones received the African Studies Association UK Distinguished Africanist Award (shared with Marjorie), the Royal Society of Arts Silver Medal, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi College in Oxford.
Jones continued to teach and write despite losing his sight in later years, fueled by determination and the unwavering support of his wife, Marjorie. They married on June 23, 1952, and had two daughters: Essemary and Ethline. When he died on March 21, 2020, at the age of 95, the scholarly world lost one of its most articulate and generous voices; his legacy lives on in classrooms, journals, and among the many students and readers he inspired.
