{"product_id":"black-england-9781399804882","title":"Black England","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e''This book brings history alive'' BERNADINE EVARISTO\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWITH A BRAND NEW FOREWORD FROM ZADIE SMITH\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e''Black England \u003c\/i\u003eis a book that will be relevant for ever'' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e----------------\u003cbr\u003eThe idea that Britain became a mixed-race country after 1945 is a common mistake. Georgian England had a large and distinctive Black community. Whether prosperous citizens or newly freed slaves, they all ran the risk of kidnap and sale to plantations. \u003ci\u003eBlack England \u003c\/i\u003etells their dramatic, often moving stories.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the eighteenth century, Black people could be found in clubs and pubs, there were special churches, Black-only balls and organisations for helping Black people who were out of work or in trouble. Many were famous and respected: most notably Francis Barber, Doctor Johnson''s beloved manservant; Ignatius Sancho, a correspondent of Laurence Sterne; Francis Williams, a Cambridge scholar, and Olaudah Equiano whose \u003ci\u003eInteresting Narrative \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the 1990s, an assistant in a London bookshop informed the African American historian Gretchen Gerzina that there \"were no black people in England before 1945\". Gerzina effectively disproved that assertion by going on to write\u003cb\u003e the classic book on black people in Georgian London\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBlack England\u003c\/i\u003e -- DAVID OLUSOGA * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWonderfully vivid, multifaceted and engrossing . . . this book brings history alive \u003c\/b\u003e -- BERNARDINE EVARISTO\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack England\u003c\/i\u003e taught me more history than I ever learned at school\u003c\/b\u003e. This book helped me to understand the history that my generation are making now. To say that it is groundbreaking is stating the obvious. \u003ci\u003eBlack England \u003c\/i\u003eis part of our canon. With books like this to guide us, we are unstoppable. Gretchen Gerzina tells it as it was, so we know how it is. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack England \u003c\/i\u003eis a book that will be relevant for ever\u003c\/b\u003e -- BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA classic that deserves to be read . . . indeed, needs to be read, \u003ci\u003eBlack England\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003edeeply researched, lucidly written and utterly fascinating\u003c\/b\u003e. If you ever thought Black British history began with Windrush, read this book - this is a story we should all know -- GREG JENNER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGerzina brings the world of the Black Georgians to intriguing life\u003c\/b\u003e, introducing us to the era's most fascinating individuals while placing them in the wider story of the struggle against enslavement. It is a treat to have a pioneer of the field bring together all the latest scholarship to tell this important part of British history for a wide audience -- MIRANDA KAUFMANN, author of Black Tudors\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe admirable clarity of \u003ci\u003eBlack England \u003c\/i\u003eshould win it many admirers\u003c\/b\u003e. Gerzina's book should take its rightful place alongside the work of her predecessors -- CARYL PHILLIPS\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlack England\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ewell-researched, with interesting quotes throughout and has a number of 'I didn't know that!' moments\u003c\/b\u003e as Gerzina throws up surprising snippets of information, such as the existence of an entirely black brothel in London catering for the nobility . . . charting the progress of the anti-slavery moment in England, Gerzina highlights the mixed and often murky motives held by white abolitionists who are often less altruistic than might be expected. This is echoed in \u003cb\u003eZadie Smith's passionate and insightful foreword\u003c\/b\u003e * Morning Star *\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Murray Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48738928460119,"sku":"9781399804882","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/black-england-9781399804882","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}