{"product_id":"mr-atkinsons-rum-contract-the-story-of-a-tangled-inheritance-9780007509232","title":"Mr Atkinsons Rum Contract The Story of a Tangled","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShortlisted for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2021Rarely has family history been so vivid' JENNY UGLOWAn extraordinarily original work' AMANDA FOREMANLike many well-to-do Georgian families, the Atkinsons' wealth was acquired at a terrible cost, through the labour and lives of enslaved Africans. Drawing on his ancestors' private correspondence, Richard Atkinson pieces together their unsettling story, from the weather-beaten house in Cumbria where they once lived to the ruins of their sugar estates in Jamaica. This extraordinarily original work of detective biography is also a uniquely personal account of one of the most disturbing chapters in Britain's colonial past.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eFascinating\u003c\/strong\u003e… Not only a minute examination of a family’s rise and fall, but \u003cstrong\u003ea ringside view of the Caribbean slave trade\u003c\/strong\u003e and an impeccable guide to the legal and financial world of the Enlightenment… \u003cstrong\u003eThis is an epic tale, but it is moreover an epic piece of research\u003c\/strong\u003e… My guess is that many readers will now find themselves inspired to unlock their own time capsules and slip into another century’ Frances Wilson, \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eA towering achievement\u003c\/strong\u003e, founded on painstaking research, written with elegance and elan, salted with humour and \u003cstrong\u003eshot-through with intelligent warmth and compassion\u003c\/strong\u003e’ Monica Ali\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eEnthralling\u003c\/strong\u003e… Full of drama, surprises, twists and turns. There are wars, sudden bankruptcies, doomed love affairs, tragic early deaths and bitter family feuds, all involving a cast of Atkinsons brilliantly brought to life… \u003cstrong\u003eThe surprises continue until the very last page\u003c\/strong\u003e’ Matthew Parker, \u003cem\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eAn engaging tour de force of genealogical research\u003c\/strong\u003e… This fascinating personal family story is also the story of a colonial English past of which none of us should be proud, but of which \u003cstrong\u003eall of us should be aware\u003c\/strong\u003e’ Brian Viner, \u003cem\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eRemarkable\u003c\/strong\u003e… A three-dimensional portrait, not just of Richard Atkinson MP but his world – nefarious, buccaneering, amoral, but also containing a genuine love story… Family history can become an obsession and often a bore. But in this case it has produced gold.\u003cstrong\u003e Love, adventure, skulduggery, moral outrage – what a story\u003c\/strong\u003e’ Clive Aslet, \u003cem\u003eThe Spectator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49399395942743,"sku":"9780007509232","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780007509232.jpg?v=1730467410","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/mr-atkinsons-rum-contract-the-story-of-a-tangled-inheritance-9780007509232","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}