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bookwomble's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Hakim Adi's selection of writings about Britain (mainly England) by Black people of the late 18th to the early 20th century is carefully chosen to establish their presence in all strata of society at a date earlier than certain commentators would wish it known. There's a thread showing the development of abolitionism into emancipation into supremacism to justify the continued exploitation of Black Labour, and Adi's selections often strongly resonate with current issues, such as the Windrush scandal and the illegal Tory Rwanda deportation policy.
There's also many fascinating glimpses into Georgian and Victorian society and, while varying degrees of racism are noted, many of the impressions of visitors to the island are positive about their reception and of the culture in which they find themselves.
A nuanced and balanced selection of historical testimonies which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, not least the short section on John Ocansey's day trip from Liverpool to my home town of Southport 🏖️
There's also many fascinating glimpses into Georgian and Victorian society and, while varying degrees of racism are noted, many of the impressions of visitors to the island are positive about their reception and of the culture in which they find themselves.
A nuanced and balanced selection of historical testimonies which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, not least the short section on John Ocansey's day trip from Liverpool to my home town of Southport 🏖️
repeatbeatpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
excellent collation of African & African-descended people writing on their experiences in Britain, going back to the mid 1700s. Features expected names in well-chosen excerpts (W.E.B DuBois on London in 1911 at a conference, Oludah Equiano etc), and many names initially unknown to me.
Audiobook also read fantastically, bringing these voices and stories back to life.
Audiobook also read fantastically, bringing these voices and stories back to life.
annarella's review
5.0
I loved this book that made me discover new to me authors and I loved to read their work about Britain in the last centuries.
It's a riveting, interesting, and informative read with some very entertaining pieces.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It's a riveting, interesting, and informative read with some very entertaining pieces.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
nightshift_mum's review
5.0
Black Voices on Britain is an anthology of extracts, letters and articles edited by Hakim Adi, Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora at the University of Chichester. Unlike other books on this subject, Adi brings together the voices of Black people from England, America, Africa and the Caribbean, who share their experiences of Britain from the 18th century to the 20th century. Adi also introduces each individual author with a brief biography, which gives us context about the text that follows.
The extracts are taken from a variety of published works, which include memoirs, fictional pieces of writing, newspaper articles and letters. Through these we get a wonderful insight into Britain from the point of view of a person of colour, during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Black Voices on Britain, was such a fascinating read, the experiences from each author varied depending on their background or the time that they were visiting Britain. I particularly enjoyed the narratives where the authors had a certain expectation of Britain before they arrived and then compared it to the reality. I also liked that many of the extracts were not just centred on London, many of the authors travelled around Britain and shared their experiences of different cities.
The extract that stood out the most for me was Sarah Parker Remond's, Letter to the Editor of the London Daily News, which was written in response to the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica. Remond's letter is a passionate defence of the 'most hated race in the world', which highlights how unjust the world is when it comes to skin colour.
Black Voices on Britain is the perfect read, for anyone wanting to expand their perspective on British history and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
The extracts are taken from a variety of published works, which include memoirs, fictional pieces of writing, newspaper articles and letters. Through these we get a wonderful insight into Britain from the point of view of a person of colour, during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Black Voices on Britain, was such a fascinating read, the experiences from each author varied depending on their background or the time that they were visiting Britain. I particularly enjoyed the narratives where the authors had a certain expectation of Britain before they arrived and then compared it to the reality. I also liked that many of the extracts were not just centred on London, many of the authors travelled around Britain and shared their experiences of different cities.
The extract that stood out the most for me was Sarah Parker Remond's, Letter to the Editor of the London Daily News, which was written in response to the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica. Remond's letter is a passionate defence of the 'most hated race in the world', which highlights how unjust the world is when it comes to skin colour.
Black Voices on Britain is the perfect read, for anyone wanting to expand their perspective on British history and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
demjin's review
4.0
I picked this up because I wanted to read more first-hand historical accounts of the UK from black voices and it delivered!
The accounts range from the 18th-20th century and it's really interesting to read how different cities were experienced and how the authors were received over time. I also liked that each author had a relatively detailed biography to give context to their account and that there were pieces from women as well. I got really excited to read about Mary Seacole - I walk past her house every day on the way to work and I can't believe I've not looked her up sooner! She was a badass!
I think I would have liked a little more historical context perhaps with footnotes or a section at the back but this is only a pocket sized book so I can see why it wasn't included.
I would definitely recommend this book, it has some really valuable and compelling excerpts.
Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
The accounts range from the 18th-20th century and it's really interesting to read how different cities were experienced and how the authors were received over time. I also liked that each author had a relatively detailed biography to give context to their account and that there were pieces from women as well. I got really excited to read about Mary Seacole - I walk past her house every day on the way to work and I can't believe I've not looked her up sooner! She was a badass!
I think I would have liked a little more historical context perhaps with footnotes or a section at the back but this is only a pocket sized book so I can see why it wasn't included.
I would definitely recommend this book, it has some really valuable and compelling excerpts.
Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
readthesparrow's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Hakim Adi has done a wonderful job of compiling texts about Britain by black people. As an American whose education has largely focused on race in America, seeing writing about race in Britain and the way it changed over the years and the different ways it was written about was extremely interesting. The excerpts from "Hard Truth" by Theodore Thomas, the letter to the editor by Sarah Parker Remond, "Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands" by Mary Seacole, and "The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave" by Mary Prince were among the most engaging and interesting texts for me in the collection.
My main criticism of the text is not necessarily one for this collection in particular but rather of the series it is a part of, the Macmillan Collector’s Library. This is the second of the collection I have read, leading me to notice two things: one, the author biographies are limited to one page, and two, there are scarce to zero footnotes. While this format works better for collections of fiction, when it comes to non-fiction the scarcity of context and guidance provided makes an impact on the reading experience.
The bios especially I would have liked to be longer. What we get is well-written and does provide a good basis for reading the following text; however, it is limited to one page, meaning that the writer's biography is limited in scope. While I didn't mind this for the author biographies in the previous Macmillan Collector’s Library collection I read ("Classic Science Fiction Stories"), I would have appreciated more detail and context for the material covered in "Black Voices on Britain" as much of it was non-fiction discussing a time period, place, and people I was unfamiliar with.
While some things I would have liked more context on were easy to look up (such as the Gordon Riots discussed in Ignatius Sancho's letters), other things were more difficult to look up (for example, why there were long dashes in those letters to replace names, what those marked out names are believed to indicate [ex. who lord G---- G---- is], and if the *** marks were used to indicate damage or something else). The latter things are aspects people familiar with the source text or writing conventions of the time might know offhand, while those unfamiliar with the text/historical context would not know offhand and may have difficulty looking up.
Overall, while Adi made excellent choice of texts for this collection, I think that the format restrictions resulting in lack of context in places makes this not the best choice of text for someone who is unfamiliar with British history in the covered era should they want to learn more about black British history. However, a reader already studying or familiar with the historical context may get far more out of this collection, and is more likely to be the target audience for this text anyhow.
My main criticism of the text is not necessarily one for this collection in particular but rather of the series it is a part of, the Macmillan Collector’s Library. This is the second of the collection I have read, leading me to notice two things: one, the author biographies are limited to one page, and two, there are scarce to zero footnotes. While this format works better for collections of fiction, when it comes to non-fiction the scarcity of context and guidance provided makes an impact on the reading experience.
The bios especially I would have liked to be longer. What we get is well-written and does provide a good basis for reading the following text; however, it is limited to one page, meaning that the writer's biography is limited in scope. While I didn't mind this for the author biographies in the previous Macmillan Collector’s Library collection I read ("Classic Science Fiction Stories"), I would have appreciated more detail and context for the material covered in "Black Voices on Britain" as much of it was non-fiction discussing a time period, place, and people I was unfamiliar with.
While some things I would have liked more context on were easy to look up (such as the Gordon Riots discussed in Ignatius Sancho's letters), other things were more difficult to look up (for example, why there were long dashes in those letters to replace names, what those marked out names are believed to indicate [ex. who lord G---- G---- is], and if the *** marks were used to indicate damage or something else). The latter things are aspects people familiar with the source text or writing conventions of the time might know offhand, while those unfamiliar with the text/historical context would not know offhand and may have difficulty looking up.
Overall, while Adi made excellent choice of texts for this collection, I think that the format restrictions resulting in lack of context in places makes this not the best choice of text for someone who is unfamiliar with British history in the covered era should they want to learn more about black British history. However, a reader already studying or familiar with the historical context may get far more out of this collection, and is more likely to be the target audience for this text anyhow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Trafficking, and Slavery
Moderate: Violence, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs
Minor: Gaslighting
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