- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: National Portrait Gallery Publications (24 Jan 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1855141922
- ISBN-13: 978-1855141926
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 12.6 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 642,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
This volume looks both at Ignatius Sancho's accomplishment and the context in which they were achieved. Including themes, such as Sancho's frienship with Laurence Sterne and the effect this had on his writing, the influence of his patron the Duke of Montagu and Sancho's position amongst the black musicians of his day, the text also encompasses wider issues, such as abolitionism and the slave trade. With Gainsborough's portrait of Sancho illustrated, art-historical themes are also addressed in the book's introductory essay. One of England's first African prose writers, Ignatius Sancho, started life on a slave-ship in the mid-Atlantic. But the time of his death in 1780, he had established his own grocery shop in Westminster. More remarkably, he had become a respected figure in contemporary literary and musical circles, writing a "Theory of Music" for the Princess Royal and corresponding with Laurence Sterne. In addition, two years after his death, his "Letters" were published and were very popular. Sancho, one of 20,000 blacks in England in the 18th century, transcended the inhumanities of the Atlantic slave trade, and the prejudice and ambiguity of his social status in England, recognizing that his was a privileged life in comparison to the "miserable fate of almost all of our unfortunate colour".
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I knew nothing about who Ignatius Sancho was before reading this book, due to the fact that when I attended Secondary School between 1980 and 1985, Black History was never taught.
In more recent times however, there have been many television documentaries highlighting the achievements and positive contributions of Black people both here and overseas. But forget the T.V. Only 126 pages in length, this excellent book is crammed with fresh and lively historical details and Sancho's own observations on life in London (particulary for Black people) during the late 17th and 18th Century.
There are four chapters each written to highlight distinct aspects of this remarkably talented and intelligent man's life. Chapter two celebrates Sancho's ability through his letters, to articulate his thoughts and feelings on such issues as slavery, which was still being practised despite an Act of Parliament in 1807 which was supposed to bring slavery to an end. Through his letters Sancho gained access to and was accepted by the literary and artistic elite of his day most notably, gaining the friendship of the writer Laurence Sterne. Sancho's way with words, warmth and wit, will endear you to his character, yet also engage you with his frank and open accounts of himself, especially of his homelife with his wife and children.
The National Portrait Gallery published this book after holding an exhibition in 1997. Thomas Gainsborough's acclaimed portait of Sancho which appears on the front and back covers, was loaned to them by the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. The book also comes complete with a selection of Plates, one of which shows Sir Joshua Reynolds, circa. 1770 Study of a Black Man, Oil on canvas and also, English School Portrait of a Black Man (Olaudah Equiano, circa 1745-1797).
Above all else, this book will dissolve any notion you may have that Black people only arrived in Britain after stepping off the Empire Windrush back in 1948. In my view, the book has wide-ranging appeal and should be used in schools throughout the UK as a vital educational tool.
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