Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice by Paula Byrne

3 stars

When I think about slavery my mind usually goes to the cotton fields of the southern United States. These fields were the source of fear, heartache and cruelty. They led to the American Civil War. They led to books, poems, artwork, legends and films. They are big on the North American consciousness.

What we often forget is that slavery happened other places before the hey day of the cotton fields of the south. There were plantations of all kinds in Barbados, Jamaica, the Bahamas and other islands that make up the Caribbean. Yet, these stories seem to get lost or pushed aside in the collective knowledge of slavery. At least, it seems like that from the Canadian and American perspective.

The writers of history have successfully erased the violence and cruelty of European slave ships and plantations. They seem to have only pegged it to southern Americans. It is astounding how we can easily cleave to some knowledge and conveniently forget others. For that reason I am so glad that we have dedicated historical writers, always looking for truth which leads them to look at things from different angles. We all have chequered pasts, we should not feel doomed by them but we need to know about them so we can learn and have a more positive outlook on our future.

Synopsis

This is a glimpse into the abolition movement in England by way of a picture of Dido Belle.

My Thoughts

Well this is a tough book review.

On the whole this was a very interesting read about a section of history we often forget, the slave trade of the British Empire. Since they were one of the first governments to abolish the slave trade we usually cast them in a great light and think, "Oh the commonwealth is so good because we decided not to have slaves, unlike those crazy Americans". Yet, the commonwealth did participate and participate fiercely in this heinous practice. This book brings to light some of the travesties such as the slave ships, what happened to runaway slaves, and the view of woman slaves and their offspring. Through Byrne's research and the stories she found a thorough picture was painted of the slave trade in the Caribbean. That history was interesting and sobering.

But the book isn't called "The Slave Trade of the Caribbean". This book is about Belle, (well actually, her name was Dido) or at least, it is supposed to be about her. And in the end, you really don't know more about her than you did at the beginning. You know there is a picture, you know that she existed and did live with her Uncle who happened to be a Lord Chief Justice but that's it. You don't know her thoughts, you don't know if she persuaded her uncles views. Everything that was said about her or her relationships was nothing more than inferences or extrapolations. It was not really fact.

This book was advertised as a biography of sorts which is very misleading. I think calling it a biography is a bit of a stretch.

For this misdirection the book was sort of disappointing. The readers thought they were going to be learning about Belle and her life, instead we got a history 101 on the British slave trade and the abolition movement of the late 18th century.

I did enjoy this book, it was readable and I found the history to be well researched an presented in a readable manner. It was worthwhile reading. However, it was not the content that was advertised. So if you decide to read it you have been warned. Reader beware.