LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
“This is a tale of a lucky African orphan, who despite being born in abject slavery, rose to become a leading light in the early abolitionist movement. A hero. A man. An African. An artist. Erudite. Wise. Grand. Flawed”. So writes actor Paterson Joseph in the introductory Author’s Note to his exceptional debut novel.
Set in Georgian London, The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho tells the thrilling fictionalised account of the character, deeds and impact of a real Black Briton. From being born on a slave ship bound “straight to the heart of hell” in 1729, to becoming an acclaimed musician, finding all-consuming love, meeting the King, leading the abolition movement and becoming the first Black person to vote in Britain, Joseph’s account of Sancho’s life sings with energy, and dances with exquisite detail.
While relating Sancho’s many fights for freedoms, and his love of a lifetime, we bear witness to the wit and dazzling drive of a man who once wondered whether he would always be “the outside man, looking in”.
Essential, entertaining reading for fans of The Confessions of Frannie Langton, and for anyone with an appetite for historic fiction with bite, The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho is an immersive treasure.
Joanne Owen
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The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho Synopsis
Meet Charles Ignatius Sancho: his extraordinary story, hidden for three hundred years, is about to be told.
I had little right to live, born on a slave ship where my parents both died. But I survived, and indeed, you might say I did more...
It's 1746 and Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man, especially one who has escaped slavery. After the twinkling lights in the Fleet Street coffee shops are blown out and the great houses have closed their doors for the night, Sancho must dodge slave catchers and worse. The man he hoped would help - a kindly duke who taught him to write - is dying. Sancho is desperate and utterly alone.
So how does Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the King, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain and lead the fight to end slavery?
It's time for him to tell his story, one that begins on a tempestuous Atlantic Ocean, and ends at the very centre of London life. And through it all, he must ask: born amongst death, how much can you achieve in one short life?
From one of Britain's best-loved actors, Paterson Joseph, comes an utterly captivating and haunting historical novel, telling the true story of a Great Black Briton. Fans of Bridgerton, Hamilton, Jessie Burton and The Confessions of Frannie Langton will adore being led into the heart of Black Georgian London.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780349702377 |
| Publication date: |
5th October 2023 |
| Author: |
Paterson Joseph |
| Publisher: |
Dialogue Books an imprint of Dialogue |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
432 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
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| Recommendations: |
|
Press Reviews
Paterson Joseph Press Reviews
An absolutely thrilling, throat-catching wonder of a historical novel. I read with alternating fascination, dread, hilarity, admiration, sorrow and triumph for a full life rendered with such animation, brilliance and understanding. Told in wonderful prose and with dazzling energy and brilliant panache. Hugely recommended -- Stephen Fry
Elegant, moving and vital, that this book is the product of a deep interest and long study of one man's life and times is evident. But what Paterson Joseph does - what every writer of historical fiction yearns to do - is make history fall away so that in every moment we are immersed in a lived life. A stunning debut. -- Jess Kidd
With his intriguing novel The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, Paterson Joseph has fully inhabited the important eighteenth-century figure of Sancho. Taking the known facts of Sancho's life as a slave-born man who became known to both the black and white communities of London, from nobility to working class, Joseph breathes vivid life into the first black man to cast a vote in the England, but whose family ranked higher in his heart than any others in his life. The novel sings with the words of a man who survives his struggles, and expresses himself through music, language, and love. -- Gretchen Gerzina
I so admire Joseph's verbal imagination which seems to effortlessly bridge the gap between our time and Sancho's. In a huge, warm, real voice, Joseph makes us look at a past world from another perspective. It's terrific. -- Harriet Walter
