Sugar Money: A Novel

Author: Harris, Jane

Number Of Pages: 400

Details:

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION and THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE*** For readers of The Yellow Crocus and The Underground Railroad, a poignant novel inspired by a true story about the heroism of two enslaved brothers sent to steal slaves from the British in Grenada and the tragic results of this doomed mission.  Set in 1765 on the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Martinique, Sugar Money opens as two enslaved brothers—Emile and Lucien—are sent on an impossible mission forced upon them by their masters, a band of mendicant French monks. The monks run hospitals in the islands and fund their ventures through farming cane sugar and distilling rum. Seven years earlier—after a series of scandals—they were ousted from Grenada by the French authorities, and had to leave their slaves behind. Despite the fact that Grenada is now under British rule, and effectively enemy territory, the monks devise an absurdly ambitious plan: they send Emile and Lucien to the island to convince the monks’ former slaves to flee British brutality and escape with them. Based on a historical rebellion, award-winning author Jane Harris peoples her daring novel with unforgettable characters. Recounted by Lucien, the younger brother, this story of courage, disaster, and love, is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit under the crush of unspeakable cruelty.

Reviews:

"Harris develops a marvelously harrowing, thrillingly picaresque tale of two brothers, Emile and Lucien, and their journey into the heart of darkness."

— The New York Times Book Review

"Harris credits Robert Louis Stevenson as inspiration for this book. It's evident why. Like Stevenson, she describes an exotic setting and tells a ripping good story….A quite good book with wide appeal."

— Library Journal (Starred)

"Draws on an obscure historical event to craft an affecting account of a young boy’s coming-of-age.…Harris makes the most of her choice to portray the cruelties of slavery through the eyes of a young lead, a decision that pays off handsomely by the moving conclusion."

— Publishers Weekly

"A vivid, perfectly paced tale of slavery and freedom, innocence and experience, love and despair, Sugar Money is told in an unforgettably beautiful language. What a stunning writer Jane Harris is, mastering an extremely harrowing and complex subject and making it into art."—Amanda Craig, author of In a Dark Wood

"With a narrator so enthralling he brings to mind Melville's Ishmael, Sugar Money takes readers on a journey into the heart of a Caribbean slave. Author Jane Harris has written an exhilarating tale of slavery, love, and the human drive for a better life even in the face of impossible odds."—Stephanie Storey, author of Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo

"With a richness of historical detail, wry wit, and subtle characterization reminiscent of Hilary Mantel, Harris bridges the distance of centuries, to the slave plantations of eighteenth century Grenada. Through the eyes of young Lucien, we witness the cruelties of slavery, the heroism of his brother Emile—and are powerfully reminded that the past is, in many ways, still with us."

— Huffington Post

"...It is in Grenada that Harris makes the brutal reality of slavery utterly plain. The risk of her earlier restraint has paid off and the brief, harrowing scenes towards the novel's climax have an extra power because of it..."—Alex Peake-Tomkinson, The Spectator

"Harris builds a lush sense of place, and the pace and tension of a rip-roaring adventure here, with derring-do and double-crossing and a looming sense of threat and dread from the start… But what is most striking is the irrepressible voice of Lucien

— whose highly original multilingual turns of phrase bring a spark and tingle to the telling of his tale — and the fractious but profound relationship he has with the desperate, damaged Emile."—

The Times (London)

"It is Lucien's voice, bright ...

EAN: 9781628728897

Release Date: 03-04-2018

Languages: English

Item Note: Great shape- pages are unmarked and sharp. Hardcover Used - Like New Ships fast! 2018

Item Condition: UsedLikeNew

Binding: Hardcover