The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph provides an insightful view on slavery in Britain through the fictional account of an actual historical figure. I appreciate the history I learn. However, at times, I find the book itself challenging to read. The pacing is inconsistent, and the narrator and timelines jump. At times, it feels like there is such a focus on telling the story that the story itself is lost. I find myself skimming and searching out the nonfiction sources to learn the history.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/12/the-secret-diaries-of-charles-ignatius....

Reviewed for NetGalley. ( )

So interesting! Based on a real individual during the 1700's. A baby was born on a slave ship heading to America but history picks him up when he was about two and his "owner" took him also to London where he was left in the home of three single women who called him Sancho. He was sharp, entertaining and had the gift of language. Through social connections, he met a kindly duke who recognized his intelligence and gifts including music. Sancho was taught to read and memorized long passages which he would "preform" for socialites who were amazed by the "pudgy little black boy."

Eventually Sancho realizes his position more as a pet than a slave and escapes the sisters. Life takes many turns but he manages to use his talents to survive. His gift of mimicry leads him to meeting David Garrick, the Shakespearean actor and others such as Samuel Johnson.

Throughout his life, Sancho realizes that although he has had many hardships, his life has not been one of slavery and there is a distance between him and others Blacks especially due to his educated language.

Sancho eventually marries a young girl, also free, but is sent to the West Indies to nurse a relative; their letters to each other provide a look at the horrors of life there.

Sancho who is a large man and suffers from gout, eventually becomes a butler to a kind man but is torn between his silence at the idea of slavery and his rage against it. He eventually owns a store that sells tea and sugar- products of slavery but always aware of the irony. Very interesting story, well written. ( )

Charles Ignatius Sancho, who lived in 16th-century Britain but who began his life in slavery, is remembered for, among other accomplishments for the time, being a composer, as well as the first British African to vote in a general election. In this work of historical fiction, Paterson Joseph fleshes out and enhances what little factual information we know about Sancho: his early life, tutelage under the Duke of Montagu, challenges and obstacles, and relationships with family and friends.

I had never heard of Sancho prior to receiving this book, but historical fiction based on little-known or oft-ignored figures sounded right up my alley. Sancho's story and Joseph's writing were both compelling, and I would absolutely recommend the book to others also drawn to the genre or time period. It was interesting to compare Sancho's apparent regard in British society with how he most likely would have bee perceived had he lived as a free man in the United States. There were a few details in my advance copy that I hope were corrected in the final version. For example, in a letter Anne sends from Barbados she mentions that there are storms afflicting "the islands that lie to our south and east" (there are no islands east of Barbados, and none directly south either).

I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. ( )

*I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.*

This book had moments when I absolutely loved it and others when I wanted to give Charles Ignatius Sancho a piece of my mind. Overall, I appreciated the mix of fact and fiction about a little-known historical figure in 18th-century London. Sancho is born on a slave ship, but is transported to England as a young child and eventually escapes from the sisters who enslaved him. He benefits from the support of a kind duke, but still must dodge slave catchers and others in London as Sancho navigates a fascinating world. He is a valet, an actor, a shopkeeper, and ultimately, the first Black man to vote in a British election. ( )

A very entertaining novel based on the incredible life of Charles Ignatius Sancho, who was born on a slave ship, became a writer and abolitionist, and was the first known Black man to vote in Britain.

Joseph does an excellent job of rendering the life and times of Sancho, even if he is occasionally a little verbose for my taste.