Top 10 books about the aftermath of empire | Madeleine Bunting

From Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to John le Carre, the novelist recommends reading about a vast, anguished legacy

All the courses I chose for my history degree related to empire. The first was a whistle-stop tour, one empire a week, starting with the Portuguese. A later course on decolonisation was so unpopular, the lectures were attended only by Prince Edward, his bodyguards and me. Studying the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya made the deepest impression. It all proved immensely useful background to draw on during my years as a Guardian columnist. In the 2011 Arab spring when I wrote about Bahrain, a reader emailed to point out that the police chief regarded as central in the suppression of Mau Mau went on to work for the Bahraini police.

Related: Ceremony of Innocence by Madeleine Bunting review - on the make in the Middle East