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The Colour Box
How could the courageous perseverance of two sisters improve the lives of the island’s 30,000 slaves?
Born in the 1700s on the British island of Antigua in the Caribbean, sisters Anne and Elizabeth Hart struggle against the injustice of slavery and inequality marking their world. Their free mulatto father inherits a working sugar cane plantation and slaves, while his daughters become abolitionists and educators who face conflict and legal battles over their endeavors.
The island does not know what to make of them—educated but black, strong-willed but compassionate, outspoken but God-fearing. Can their faith enable them to break social norms and follow their hearts when each of them discovers controversial love?
The sisters' determination to educate the slaves eventually leads them to follow a pattern of teaching school on Sunday, a practice established by a well-known educator of the times, Robert Rakes.
Set in St. John's and then the Dockyard in English Harbour, this inspirational story interweaves imagined vignettes with research about Anne and Elizabeth and actual events leading up to the 1834 Emancipation. This vibrant historical retelling reveals a color box of personalities and cultures.
Born in the 1700s on the British island of Antigua in the Caribbean, sisters Anne and Elizabeth Hart struggle against the injustice of slavery and inequality marking their world. Their free mulatto father inherits a working sugar cane plantation and slaves, while his daughters become abolitionists and educators who face conflict and legal battles over their endeavors.
The island does not know what to make of them—educated but black, strong-willed but compassionate, outspoken but God-fearing. Can their faith enable them to break social norms and follow their hearts when each of them discovers controversial love?
The sisters' determination to educate the slaves eventually leads them to follow a pattern of teaching school on Sunday, a practice established by a well-known educator of the times, Robert Rakes.
Set in St. John's and then the Dockyard in English Harbour, this inspirational story interweaves imagined vignettes with research about Anne and Elizabeth and actual events leading up to the 1834 Emancipation. This vibrant historical retelling reveals a color box of personalities and cultures.
296 pages, Paperback
Published March 8, 2021
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 24, 2021
The lives of Anne Hart Gilbert and Elizabeth Hart Thwaites are perfectly summed up on the last page of the book, “The thousands of slaves—they are their memorial.” What an amazing story of two mixed-race sisters whose Christian beliefs caused them to value all people. Their concerted efforts to teach slaves how to read and do numbers along with teaching the Bible prepared the slaves in Antigua to be ready for freedom in one step in 1834 rather than in stages as occurred on most Caribbean islands.
Having lived in Antigua for 38 years, Barbara Waite very capably captures Antiguan culture including dialect. She also carefully crafts the story to be historically accurate while filling in the gaps with a compelling characters and sub-plots.
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The Colour Box will leave you challenged to deeper Christian living and care of all—messages we all need in today’s world.
Having lived in Antigua for 38 years, Barbara Waite very capably captures Antiguan culture including dialect. She also carefully crafts the story to be historically accurate while filling in the gaps with a compelling characters and sub-plots.
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The Colour Box will leave you challenged to deeper Christian living and care of all—messages we all need in today’s world.
June 2, 2025
Hello, historical fiction fans, how about a trip to Antigua via a book titled The Colour Box? It is a story you don't want to miss. It's been on my TBR for a while, and finally I got a chance to read it.
Inspired by a real family, the novel tells the story of a mixed-race family in the West Indies who are also slave owners. They love the Lord, and He helps them help others. If you decide to read this book, you might want to read the author's notes first.
It was written by Barbara Anne Waite, a missionary who lived in Antigua for many years. Her thorough research and her ability to tell a fabulous story makes this book a winner.
Inspired by a real family, the novel tells the story of a mixed-race family in the West Indies who are also slave owners. They love the Lord, and He helps them help others. If you decide to read this book, you might want to read the author's notes first.
It was written by Barbara Anne Waite, a missionary who lived in Antigua for many years. Her thorough research and her ability to tell a fabulous story makes this book a winner.
June 16, 2021
The story of the Hart sisters shows the in-depth research and time the author spent to get her facts right. I feel this is her best work to date. Sorry to see the story end.
May 18, 2022
Action and Atmosphere
Barbara Waite's previous books were compilations of her grandmother's journals and letters. The Colour Box is her first novel, and it is a triumph. The author's writing style features the emphasis on the active voice, imparting the vividness to her storytelling that makes the book so compelling. Her intense familiarity with Antigua, the result of 38 years of living there, lends to the book's atmosphere the texture of the world that the characters inhabited. The characters themselves are compelling, making the reader develop for them genuine interest and sympathy for them. The overarching background of the period's historical transitions underscores the impact of the service that the sisters, Anne and Elizabeth, and their husbands, John Gilbert and Charles Thwaites, rendered to the Lord in bringing about the emancipation that came when only Charles remained alive. The Colour Box, while a novel, draws the reader into the exotic world of the Caribbean and portrays the challenges and conquests that the Lord brought to pass two centuries ago.
Barbara Waite's previous books were compilations of her grandmother's journals and letters. The Colour Box is her first novel, and it is a triumph. The author's writing style features the emphasis on the active voice, imparting the vividness to her storytelling that makes the book so compelling. Her intense familiarity with Antigua, the result of 38 years of living there, lends to the book's atmosphere the texture of the world that the characters inhabited. The characters themselves are compelling, making the reader develop for them genuine interest and sympathy for them. The overarching background of the period's historical transitions underscores the impact of the service that the sisters, Anne and Elizabeth, and their husbands, John Gilbert and Charles Thwaites, rendered to the Lord in bringing about the emancipation that came when only Charles remained alive. The Colour Box, while a novel, draws the reader into the exotic world of the Caribbean and portrays the challenges and conquests that the Lord brought to pass two centuries ago.
May 27, 2022
I received this book as a Christmas present and finished it before the end of vacation! It is an excellent historical fiction about the real life Hart plantation in Antigua and the Hart sisters who were born and reared there by their freed, mixed race father. Elizabeth and Anne grew to become abolitionists and educators of the people of Antigua. The book describes racial issues of the time as found in the sisters' writings. The Hart sisters lived in St. Johns, then in English harbor and eventually married white men who aided them in educating the citizens of Antigua.
The book is dynamic and interesting. The level of historical information is very detailed. Getting a view of the 1700s on Antigua from the perspective of the two sisters is enlightening. I appreciate the effort made by the author to develop the story with precise descriptions and details. I strongly recommend this book to all.
The book is dynamic and interesting. The level of historical information is very detailed. Getting a view of the 1700s on Antigua from the perspective of the two sisters is enlightening. I appreciate the effort made by the author to develop the story with precise descriptions and details. I strongly recommend this book to all.
June 21, 2021
This meticulously-researched historical novel is based on the true story of biracial sisters Anne and Elizabeth Hart and abolition movement on the British island of Antigua. The slaves who worked the island’s plantations were emancipated in 1834. The author lived on Antigua for nearly 40 years, and her personal experience with the island and its people bring life and authenticity to the setting in her book. The protagonists of the story are strong-willed and outspoken, compassionate and God-fearing. I'm glad Waite brought their brave, inspiring story to light. Readers who enjoy historical Christian fiction will find much to love in this informative book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews