{"product_id":"9780349702384","title":"The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho : \"An absolutely thrilling, throat-catching wonder of a historical novel\" STEPHEN FRY","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Absolutely loving this . . . A great storyteller and a fabulous actor. Well done, sir!' DAVID HAREWOOD, actor and author of \u003ci\u003eMaybe I Don't Belong Here\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Phenomenal! Highly recommended' MALORIE BLACKMAN, author of \u003ci\u003eNoughts and Crosses\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Sings with the words of a man who survives his struggles, and expresses himself through music, language and love' GRETCHEN GERZINA, author, historian and academic\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeet Charles Ignatius Sancho: his extraordinary story, hidden for three hundred years, is about to be told.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eI 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...\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's \u003cb\u003e1746\u003c\/b\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo 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?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt'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: \u003cb\u003eborn amongst death, how much can you achieve in one short life?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom 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 \u003ci\u003eBridgerton\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHamilton\u003c\/i\u003e, Jessie Burton and \u003ci\u003eThe Confessions of Frannie Langton\u003c\/i\u003e will adore being led into the heart of Black Georgian London.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An \u003cb\u003eabsolutely thrilling\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ethroat-catching wonder\u003c\/b\u003e of a historical novel. I read with alternating fascination, dread, hilarity, admiration, sorrow and triumph for a full life rendered with such animation, \u003cb\u003ebrilliance and understanding\u003c\/b\u003e. Told in \u003cb\u003ewonderful prose\u003c\/b\u003e and with \u003cb\u003edazzling energy\u003c\/b\u003e and brilliant panache. \u003cb\u003eHugely recommended\u003c\/b\u003e.' Stephen Fry\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I so \u003cb\u003eadmire\u003c\/b\u003e Joseph's verbal imagination which seems to \u003cb\u003eeffortlessly bridge the gap between our time and Sancho's\u003c\/b\u003e. In a \u003cb\u003ehuge, warm, real\u003c\/b\u003e voice, Joseph makes us look at a past world from another perspective. It's \u003cb\u003eterrific\u003c\/b\u003e.' Dame Harriet Walter, acclaimed actor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eElegant, moving and vital\u003c\/b\u003e. What Paterson Joseph does - what every writer of historical fiction yearns to do - is make history fall away so that \u003cb\u003ein every moment we are immersed in a lived life\u003c\/b\u003e. A \u003cb\u003estunning\u003c\/b\u003e debut.' Jess Kidd, author of \u003ci\u003eThings in Jars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rye Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45459068027101,"sku":"9780349702384","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0064\/1368\/0730\/files\/9780349702384.jpg?v=1719959397","url":"https:\/\/ryebooks.co.uk\/products\/9780349702384","provider":"Rye Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}