by Jane Harris
Condemnation of the slave trade increased over the ensuing years until the British abolished the practice in 1834 and the French eradicated slavery in all its possessions in 1848.
Acknowledgements
This novel was inspired by events that are described in Grenada, A History of Its People by Dr Beverley A. Steele, and also in Conception Island by Raymond Devas. My touchstone book, to which I returned again and again, was Two Years in the French West Indies, by Lafcadio Hearn (and, in Chapter Six of Sugar Money, I quote from Hearn’s description of the market sellers of Martinique). I found John Angus Martin’s Island Caribs and French Settlers in Grenada extremely useful, as was Voyages aux Isles de l’Amerique, by Père Labat.
Of the many accounts of plantation life and slave narratives that I read, probably those I found most inspiring were Sugar and Slavery, Family and Race: The Letters and Diary of Pierre Dessalles, Planter in Martinique, 1808 to 1856, edited by Elborg Forster and Robert Forster; Mastery, Tyranny and Desire: Thomas Thistlewood and his Slaves by Trevor Burnard; The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, edited by Angelo Costanzo; and Creole Testimonies, Slave Narratives from the British West Indies, 1709–1838, by Nicole A. Alijoe.
Once again, Francis Grose’s Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was invaluable, as was the Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, compiled by Richard Allsopp.
Finally, I’m indebted to the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, whose novels have inspired me since childhood.
THANKS
My research for this book was greatly assisted by Dr John Angus Martin, historian and former Director/Curator of Grenada Museum, who gave me access to a vast archive of photographs, drawings and maps and showed me the site of the original hospital in Grenada. Historian Dr Stephen Mullen kindly read the manuscript of Sugar Money and gave me detailed feedback on its historical accuracy; and Dr Curtis Jacobs and historian Lucy Inglis pointed me in the right direction in the early stages of my research.
I’m grateful to the staff of the Archives Nationales d’Outre Mer in Provence, France, and to those at the National Archives at Kew, London, for allowing me access to historical letters, documents, maps and plans. I’m indebted to the British Council and to the former head of Glasgow Libraries, Karen Cunningham, who together funded and organised my research trip to the West Indies as part of their Trading Tales project. Thanks are also due to the following for their help with geographical, military and sailing research: Sarah Hopkins, Travis Gottshutzke, Peter Mackenzie, Alex Stevens, and Jamie and Amber of Conservation Kayak, Grenada.
Much gratitude to Grenadian legend, hiking guide and naturalist Telfer Bedeau, who took me on a hike across the island from St George’s (Fort Royal) to Halifax (Petit Havre), following the route of the journey made by my characters.
Huge thanks to the following who gave feedback on all or part of the manuscript: Richard Beard, Andrew Binnie, Rena Brennan, Adam Campbell, Geoff Cooper, Polis Loizou, Jacob Ross, Elia Rulli, Tom Shankland, Gillian Stern, and Alex Stevens.
Many thanks to my editor, Angus Cargill, for his patience and enthusiasm, to Stephen Page for his encouragement, to Donna Payne for her great design and to all at Faber & Faber, including Maria Garbutt-Lucero, Katie Hall, Eleanor Rees and Kate Ward. I’d also like to thank my agent, Jonny Geller, for being super, and also Catherine Cho, Kate Cooper, Alice Lutyens, and all at Curtis Brown.
Finally, I’m eternally indebted to a group of friends, family and confidants whose support and encouragement has kept me going over the past few years: Esther Cato, Danuta Kean, Rebecca Keane, Georgia Miller, George Mulvagh, Lucy Mulvagh, Donna Murray, Monique Roffey, Elia Rulli, Amanda Smyth, and Damien Timmer.
About the Author
Jane Harris’s debut novel, The Observations, was shortlisted for the 2007 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, for the British Book Awards Waterstone’s Newcomer of the Year and the South Bank Show/Times Breakthrough Award. It was later chosen by Richard and Judy as one of their 100 Books of the Decade and followed in 2011 by the acclaimed Gillespie & I.
By the same author
THE OBSERVATIONS
GILLESPIE AND I
Copyright
First published in 2017
by Faber & Faber Limited
Bloomsbury House
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London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2017
All rights reserved
© Jane Harris, 2017
Cover design by Faber
Cover illustration based on an original, courtesy of Mary Evans / Retrograph Collection
The right of Jane Harris to be identified as author of this work respectively has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
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A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
978–0571– 33696–8
