This program is read by the author, who also plays the lead role of Sancho in his play, Sancho: An Act of Remembrance. "To be able to speak these intimate words into a listener’s ears is this writer-performer’s dream. I have always loved the spoken word, as it strikes me as the purest form of performance. In public storytelling terms, it is perfection. From my lips to your ears—to your mind—to a personal, unforgettable picture formed as a memory. Whilst my absolute favorite is the written word for the conveying of story, the next best has to be the audiobook." —Paterson Joseph, author, The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho It’s finally time for Charles Ignatius Sancho to tell his story, one that begins on a slave ship in the Atlantic and ends at the very center of London life. . . . A lush and immersive tale of adventure, artistry, romance, and freedom set in eighteenth-century England and based on a true story It’s 1746 and Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man. Charles Ignatius Sancho must dodge slave catchers and worse, and his main ally—a kindly duke who taught him to write—is dying. Sancho is desperate and utterly alone. So how does the same Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the king, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain, and lead the fight to end slavery? Through every moment of this rich, exuberant tale, Sancho forges ahead to see how much he can achieve in one short life: “I had little right to live, born on a slave ship where my parents both died. But I survived, and indeed, you might say I did more.” A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.
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An absolutely thrilling, throat-catching wonder of a historical novel. In The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, Paterson has given us a character for the ages. It’s hard to overpraise this achievement. You might read it for its evocation of an age or for its depiction of the cultures, attitudes, and race all colliding in ‘Enlightenment’ England, but whatever you bring to the book, the book will bring to you adventure, romance, and the full flowering of a magnificent literary hero, all told in wonderful prose and with dazzling energy and brilliant panache. Never woke, but always awake. Hugely recommended.
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Stephen Fry, actor, comedian, director, and writer