Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an AfricanPenguin, 1998 - 336 oldal Born on a slave ship enroute to the West Indies, orphaned by the age of two and taken to England by his owner, Ignatius Sancho rose from servitude to include among his friends noted artists, writers, actors, and prominent politicians. Sancho first gained celebrity when one of his letters appeared in the novelist Laurence Sterne's Letters (1775) and, inspired by the editor's desire to show "that an untutored African may possess abilities equal to a European", two volumes of Sancho's letters were published shortly after his death. The literary quality and the historical importance of the letters endure, revealing a man of sensitivity, intellect, and charm, while also presenting an unusual chronicle of the times. Sancho offers young men fatherly advice on their futures; writes flirtatiously to young women; relates the joys and sorrows of family life; swaps literary jokes; and comments perceptively on the issues of the day. His thoughts on race and politics -- including his criticism of British imperialism in India, the complicity of Africans in the slave trade, and the blatant racism that flourishes in his adopted homeland -- will be of particular interest to twentieth-century readers. While some letters may have been abridged because of the original editor's concerns about public sensitivities, they remain a powerful testament to the injustices of racial discrimination. |
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... never accomplished the task . Consequently , Jekyll wrote his life of Sancho " in Imitation of Dr. Johnson's Style . " Since Johnson and Sancho shared many friends , they probably knew each other , though no record of their acquaintance ...
... never lost con- tact with those who had been his fellow servants : Charles Browne , Mrs. H— , James Kisbee , and Roger Rush . He treated as protégés the much younger John Meheux , an amateur writer and artist , and Julius Soubise ...
... never been taught but by the example of those who performed it by natural vigour of imagi- nation , and rectitude of judgment . . . . As letters are written on all subjects , in all states of mind , they cannot be properly reduced to ...
... never excuse in- tolerable scrawls — and I do tell you that for writing conversable letters you are wholly unfit - no talent - no nature — no style- stiff - formal - and unintelligible - take that - INTRODUCTION xxiii.
... never met him , he introduced me to Afro - British literature through his facsimile editions , published during the 1960s , of the works by Sancho , Quobna Ottobah Cugoano , and Olaudah Equiano . The edition of Sancho's Letters ...