Regency slavery novel > Likes and Comments

Blood & Sugar
I really enjoyed this book. It is a well-told tale of life in the late 18th century in Deptford, in particular in relation to the slave trade. It is atmospheric in its descriptions of the port. It deals graphically with murder, torture, prostitution and other gruesome acts, Very realistic. It opened my eyes to the number of slaves in England at the time and how they lived. Recommended reading

Thanks. Just bought it.

Was surprised to see "Regency slavery novel" as the topic on the top of the discussion list, as slavery is not a topic that features very often in Regency historical romance, even though the anti-slavery movement in Britain took place smack in the middle of the period.

That's what I discovered, at least, while doing research for my upcoming historical romance, Not Quite a Scandal, which is set against the abolitionist movement of the 1820s.

Are there other novels on the topic that you've read and appreciated?

Not romances as such, but Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson set in 1799 is all about the slave trade and people of African origin in London. It's a very good novel, as is her third The Square of Sevens. I haven't read the second. But I believe Bridgerton by Julia Quinn or its spin-offs also includes black characters, but I only read the first novel, The Duke & I. Wouldn't read any more as it was so dire, but I think the Netflix production features a black Queen Charlotte which in fact isn't so unlikely as it sounds having read a Guardian article on the subject. In Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, the head of the household (can't recall the names for now) went off for a year or so for business in Antigua and we all know what that would have been about. Lastly, in my fourth Pride & Prejudice Variation which I'm still writing (likely to be called Georgiana Darcy's Season of Hope or something like that) I have Mary Bennet writing a novel based on having met a black maidservant and her son in Bristol which happened in the third novel Easter At Netherfield. I'll have to do quite a lot of research on that! All my P&P variations are available incidentally as ebooks, paperbacks and Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.