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Review
‘Robertson is a moralist whose deftness of touch and gift for narrative clarity disguises the sheer heft of his sermon. His belief in the power of books to alter things glows at the centre of what he writes.’
Ali Smith, Guardian
'’A book of such quality as to persuade you that historical novels are the true business of the writer, that it's through the past that we might understand ourselves best, that it's in the past that the imagination can be most free, but also most authentic.'
Daily Telegraph
'A brilliant achievement and a great read.'
Scotland on Sunday
Ali Smith, The Guardian
'A work of cunning and great assurance.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This has been sitting on my bedside table for some time, but I wish I had picked it up sooner. The characterisation, the themes, the language and the plot are fascinating and absorbing and I have found the book poignant, funny and very moving. It is a wonderful story beautifully told and I think it is a shame that it has not received more widespread acclaim outside Scotland, where it justly has won prizes. It is one of the best books I've read for some time.
60 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Genealogist, author of the Internet "Wedderburn Pages", and direct descendant of the real life Wedderburns who play a central role in this book, I have come to know the family history pretty well. This atmospheric, no-holds-barred account, rings true in almost every detail. The vital narrative vividly evokes the milieu and culture of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Scottish history, encouraging the reader to reappraise conventional understanding of the British role in the marginalisation and subjugation of a people uprooted and transported to a life of slave labour in the West Indian sugar plantations. (How many of us are aware that sugar and slavery created the foundations of the first British empire?)
Robertson has managed to bring my ancestors to life through an entirely believable characterisation of brothers James and John Wedderburn, portrayed as I had always imagined them - a testament both to the author’s meticulous research and considerable insight. We follow the family on a journey from impoverishment following the defeat of the Jacobite uprising and Bonny Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, to enforced exile in Jamaica, and, finally, the immense riches amassed by the family through the exploitation of slave labour in the Caribbean sugar trade, prior to their eventual return to Scotland. The curious blend of the historian’s penchant for accuracy and, in Robertson’s own words, a number of ‘liberties’ with the historical record, the blurring of the line between truth and fiction, do not detract from the reader’s sense of the work’s authenticity and credibility.
James Wedderburn reflects the certitudes, and John the first stirrings of doubts, surrounding the acceptability of white dominion over the black slave at the time. Despite John’s misgivings and a certain degree of guilt, he believes to the end of his life that he was entitled to consider Joseph Knight a possession, notwithstanding defeat in the Court of Session, Scotland’s supreme civil court. For years many members of the Jamaican plantocracy had taken advantage of the notion of ownership to exercise their ‘rights’ over their female slaves, and use and abuse them as they saw fit. It is somewhat ironic that James, utterly convinced of this right, was to father a son by his mulatto housekeeper Rosanna who was later to prove a real thorn in the family’s side. An acquaintance of Wilberforce, author of radical tracts and a revolutionary preacher, James’s son Robert was to become a leading and influential proponent of abolitionism, his autobiography “The Horrors of Slavery” a vivid indictment of an execrable system. (Ideal material for a sequel by James Robertson, perhaps?!)
I could not but be impressed by this unembellished yet dramatic, powerful and convincing account of a darker period of British colonialism, one which breathes extraordinary life into a lesser known era, in a manner which renders our past, skeletons included, accessible to all.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Easily the most enjoyable piece of fictional writing I have read in a longtime. I just could not put it down until I had finished it. Like anotherwork by the same author, 'The Fanatic', this book has so obviously beenmeticulously researched and planned.
The author successfully interweaves time, history, travel, the Scotstongue, emotions, intrigue and human relationships into a compelling storyand brings the characters so much to life you feel as if you know themwell. Everything is so real.
James Robertson must surely be recognised as one of the leading Scottishwriters of the 21st century - I am eagerly awaiting his next publication!
The author successfully interweaves time, history, travel, the Scotstongue, emotions, intrigue and human relationships into a compelling storyand brings the characters so much to life you feel as if you know themwell. Everything is so real.
James Robertson must surely be recognised as one of the leading Scottishwriters of the 21st century - I am eagerly awaiting his next publication!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Atmospheric and compelling read
I enjoyed this book very much indeed. It is on a par with Joseph O'Connor's 'Star of the Sea' and I have already recommended it to several friends but thought readers, both Scots... Read more
Published 3 months ago by BWHunt
for all Scots
A super read. Robertson is a wonderful story teller and this is a story which every Scot should read. Read more
Published 7 months ago by I. E. Mowat
Joseph Knight
A fascinating story brought to life through excellent research and great storytelling. James Robertson has done a service in bringing this story and the context of slave... Read more
Published 8 months ago by A. Clark
"good condition" copy of Joseph Knight
The book was readable and no pages were torn or missing but it was very dirty and scruffy and I would have described it as "poor" condition
Published 20 months ago by Peacole
REVISITING A TROUBLESOME PAST
Through "Joseph Knight" James Robertson seems to suggest that history, if not investigaed and elaborated properly, could repeat itself eternally and violently. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Giulia Marascotti
Saltcoats Fan
I have,just a few minutes ago,finished reading this book. What powerful writing. Not just a good read but an examination of personal values.
The pen indeed...
The pen indeed...
Published on 16 May 2008 by M. S. Watson
Wonderful read - so compelling.
Despite being a slow reader, this book was so rewarding to me: the Scottish and West Indian history, the horrors of the slave trade, the familiar Scottish names and places, all of... Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2007 by Mrs. Nina M. B. Bowry
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