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Sanjida O'Connell

Sugar Island Paperback – 1 Jan. 2012

by Sanjida O'Connell (Author)

11 ratings

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Language

English
Publisher

John Murray Publishers
Publication date

1 Jan. 2012
Dimensions

13 x 2.4 x 19.7 cm
ISBN-10

184854040X
ISBN-13

978-1848540408
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Murray Publishers (1 Jan. 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 184854040X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1848540408
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 2.4 x 19.7 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 2,608,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 105,115 in Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews:
11 ratings

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Sanjida O'Connell

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I've had twelve books published, four novels (The Priest and the Lily, Sugar Island, Angel Bird and Theory of Mind) and four works of non-fiction (Mindreading: How we Learn to Love and Lie, Sugar: The Grass the Changed the World, Nature's Calendar, Chimpanzee: The Making of the Film) as well as contributing to the encyclopaedia, Animal Life.

I've been shortlisted for the BBC Asia Awards, was one of the winners of the Betty Trask Award for Romantic Fiction, shortlisted for the Daily Telegraph Science writer's award, and highly commended for BBC Wildlife magazine's award for nature writing.

I wrote features and columns for national newspapers and magazines about science and the environment, directed science documentaries and presented wildlife programmes for the BBC.

I've also had four psychological thrillers published by Corvus Books under my pen name of Sanjida Kay: Bone by Bone, The Stolen Child, My Mother's Secret and One Year Later.

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5 star		42%
4 star		23%
3 star		24%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		11%

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penny

enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 May 2012

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book, its is written in a slightly whimsical way in parts, true to the time period its set in.
Touchng on terrible treatment of slaves, but not too deeply.
It's not meant to be a documentory or a heavy drama but a lighter read.
I still found it iteresting and would recommend it.

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Kindler

Just OK

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 April 2012

Verified Purchase

I heard this book being reviewed on the radio and got the impression that it was a five star read. However, I was disappointed in the style of writing. I felt that there was too much detail of scenery but not enough of the feelings of the characters and found myself skimming over passages. The potential is there for a great novel but it turned into a mediocre one.

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The Horrors of Slavery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 February 2016

Inspired by the life of 19th-century actress and writer Fanny Kemble, 'Sugar Island' tells the story of inspirational if reluctant actress Emily Harris, who agrees to go on a tour to the United States with her father's acting troupe, where she meets liberal writer Ely Crawford and his novelist sister Sarah, and charming lawyer Charles Earl Brook. When Emily's father is killed in a carriage accident, Emily finds herself, vulnerable and alone, committing to marrying Charles. Unfortunately, she's not bothered to really find out much about Charles's life, and is horrified to discover that the bulk of his income comes from a Georgia sugar and cotton plantation, manned by slaves - not only this, but Charles must give up life in Boston to run this plantation. In the heat and dust of the plantation, Emily gives birth to a daughter, and struggles to help the slaves, campaigning in her quiet way for abolition, and trying to provide them with education and practical comforts. But in so doing, she severely alienates her husband, a man who believes in 'the old ways'. As the American Civil War looms, and Charles grows more tyrannical, Emily realizes that she is in terrible danger.

I felt this book was a great idea that didn't quite come off. There were some great bits - descriptions of life on the plantation, Emily's friendship with young slave Frank, who she teaches to read, the contrast between Ely's passionate campaigning for abolition and Charles's horrific refusal to see his workers as fully human. There were some fine descriptions both of the theatre world and of the landscape of Georgia, and O'Connell gave a good sense of the horror of approaching war. But I felt the book suffered due to O'Connell's uncertainty whether to stick to Fanny Kemble's story or go off on her own narrative, and due to some rather clumsy writing in the romantic passages. I was uncertain why Emily, an independent woman, married Charles - poverty may have had something to do with it, but with Ely and Sarah to support her, did she really need to accept the offer of a man she wasn't sure about? Charles himself was not a well-realized character - he appeared to have a personality transformation on the road south to Georgia, spent most of the book behaving like an evil control freak, and then suddenly did a total volte-face, claiming that everything he'd done was just because he adored his wife so much (which seemed sentimental and unlikely, particularly bearing in mind his philandering and taunting). Ely seemed to be able to skip up and down from the North to the South with admirable ease in a pre-aeroplane or even pre-fast train era, and it seemed a bit too convenient that Emily always had 'another man' waiting in the wings for if the Charles situation collapsed. Avoiding the complications of Fanny Kemble's divorce meant that Emily's narrative developed just that bit too neatly, and some of the late scenes seemed to 'sort out' issues too tidily. At least by creating the Scottish couple on the neighbouring plantation O'Connell didn't fall into the trap of making all plantation owners pantomime villains. But I did feel some issues were simplified, and the husband and wife scenes teetered towards melodrama, however moving the scenes with Emily and the slaves were.

A promising if not entirely satisfying book though, and I definitely look forward to reading more of O'Connell's books.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2011

Sugar Island is a fictional story, although it is loosely based on the life of Fanny Kemble, a noted British actress and writer, set around the time of the American Civil War.

Emily Harris arrives in America in 1858 with her father. An actress of note from England, she has come to America on a tour. Early the next year she is just finishing the Christmas Season in New York when she meets Charles Brook. An eloquent, considerate man, they form a friendship. When her father dies leaving Emily alone in America the friendship becomes romance, and the couple marry. They begin their honeymoon in Italy, intending to visit Emily's family in England as a part of their travels, however, a message to Charles means that the trip is cancelled and they rush back to the Southern States where Charles' Plantation is in financial trouble. The true nature of Charles Brook is revealed. He owns 700 slaves. Men, women and children, all living in poverty and suffering systematic abuse from their owner. Her shock turns to horror as she learns how they live, and her own - and her new daughter's - liberty and wellbeing is threatened when she at first befriends, and then sides with some of the slaves. As war threatens Charles' way of life, her actions have harsh, far reaching consequences.

Emily is a naïve and innocent young lady who is totally unprepared for the reality of her new life, but she has a strong sense of justice and a fire in her that Charles cannot extinguish. Charles is a mean spirited, domineering, stubborn man who is used to his way being the only way. This is a story of two plots. The love followed by disillusionment and disgust that Emily feels for Charles, and her fight for the rights of the slaves; the slaves who are raped, beaten, starved and humiliated routinely. The shock and revulsion when she realises that some of the slaves' children are of paler skin and look remarkably like the Plantation owner. The imagery is stark and beautifully executed, the plotline is very believable. Inn so many stories it is hard to imagine a face for a character, but in Sugar Island, I could see the sneer, the greasy hair, the swagger of Charles. I could smell the slaves' village, and hear the sound of the slaves in the fields. The description of the slaves' hospital is enough to bring one to tears - and the sounds and smell are enough to induce queasiness.

This is not a history book, and I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the timeline. However, it is so believable. From the (very non Politically Correct) language to the descriptions of the life of the slaves, I was there.

Don't enter this book expecting action on every page, nor should you expect a beautiful romance. It's a thought provoking and sometimes harrowing tale comparing two very different worlds; that of Emily and Charles - rich and well appointed, and the horror of a life of slavery. A tale of betrayal and inequality.

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Sugar Island Paperback – 1 Jan. 2012

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About the author

Sanjida O'Connell

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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