This article explores early tendencies of West African cultural (proto-)nationalism through the vantage point of the mother-daughter relationship between Adelaide and Gladys Casely-Hayford. Their family dynamics and generational frictions, as disclosed in their letters, memoirs, articles and poems, besides being personal testimonies of causing each other pain and mutual disappointment, provide insights into political, mental and social developments of 1920-1940 West African-British interaction.

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... Both women, actively engaged in girl's education, had differing outlooks on their "Africanness", on the importance and content of education and on the role of women in society. Mainly drawing on Adelaide's biographical material and Gladys' poems, this article compares and contrasts their respective attitudes and dispositions to reveal the tendencies that influenced them.