Really interesting but just too long and meandering … has some great elements of the story but just takes too long to come to fruition. Some chapters immensely long and others a couple of pages. But an eye opening tale of how people were treated in a so-called enlightened country!!!

On balance if the anti-slavery element had been an earlier feature it could have been much more impactful, but sadly although I finished it, I got a bit bored along the way.

3*

This was a great slice of historical fiction, loosely based on a real person. If you have any interest in eighteenth century London, this book written as a series of letters and diary entries gives a fascinating insight into the everyday lives of the rich and poor, Black and white at the time. Born a slave, Charles Ignatius has lived in London since he was a child as the decorative servant of three ladies. He catches the eye of a local duke and manages to educate and eventually free himself, but struggles to find a place as an outsider in London. Having recently read Black Britain and a little about the real Sancho's life, it was really interesting to be plunged into a more emotional retelling of his story. The love story between himself and Ann, told by letter as they are separated and she lives on a plantation, was a clever way to remind the reader of the wider context of enslavement and discrimination faced by black people at the time, although the real focus is on the world of David Garrick, Dr Johnson and Hogarth. A real page turner and very well written!

I was sent an advance proof copy of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho to read and review by NetGalley. I really enjoyed this novel, it was interesting and entertaining and also gave a great insight into the lives of black people in the 18th century. Based on the life of the real Charles Ignatius Sancho it appeared to be well researched and gave a real flavour of the times. Written in the form of a ‘letter’ to his son it catalogues Sancho’s life from childhood. I would be interested to know whether any of the words, apart from the quote at the beginning of the book, were actually Sancho’s own as there were a lot of passages written in italics that implied as such, however, as there was no mention of this in my proof copy I suppose not. I was really pleased to be able to look up the painting of Sancho by Thomas Gainsborough mentioned towards the end of the book and put a face to the name, also finding that my own mental image of him was not far from reality.

I received this book via netgalley as an ARC. It has intentions to bring light to the plight of black people in the 18th century trying to escape the shackles of slavery. Unfortunately it fails to put any drive or momentum into the storytelling. I struggled through it but came out with only one thought that these diaries served no purpose. I hated almost evry moment and would not be seeking more from this author

It took me a little while to settle into this book. The highly-descriptive prose is very different from what I usually read. Once acclimatised, I grew to love the vibrant characters brought to life on the pages and also the humour present in spite of the serious themes.

I did feel the story lost momentum in the section told through the exchange of letters between Charles and Anne, As Anne was abroad at the time and a very significant event took place there, I suppose the section was necessary.

All in all, a welcome departure from my tried and tested genres. An emotional story of hope even in the hardest of times.

Story of unfortunate child, sold into slavery, taken in by three sisters as a fashionable accessory. Sancho suffers many hardships and hates his life, he runs away and comes to the attention of a Lord and his wife, they secretly educate him, which leads to his imprisonment and downfall.
Sancho manages to get odd jobs to survive and meets a woman who he falls in love with, their path is difficult and through their correspondence we learn more about their lives. Eventually Sancho and Anne are together and with each successive child he has to work harder to support his growing family.
Sancho is overweight and has been since childhood his health suffers..
The stories of slavery and Sancho's involvement with the abolitionist cause is well documented but at times confusing.
I found the style, particularly the letters not engaging.
Thank you NetGalley for this title

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Paterson Joseph uses the style of works such as David Copperfield and Jane Eyre to depict the life of Charles Ignatius Sancho and bring to life some Black British history that has rarely been explored. Without dwelling on the tragedies of slavery and the racism of 18th century British society, Joseph nonetheless illustrates the difficulties faced by a Black man (albeit a privileged one) trying to make his way in that age. Charles Ignatius Sancho was a larger-than-life character and this book shows him as such, without shying away from the more difficult elements of his story. Joseph is a strong writer and it'll be interesting to see what he does next in this arena.

I really love Paterson Joseph, and the same for Sancho, but this novel didn't quite grab me enough. I felt it stood back too much from the action: a bit of a classic 'tell not show'. A bit more showing would be nice: as it is, it revisits the relatively well-known events of Sancho's life.

An incredible work of historical fiction. So we'll researched. I adore finding out about historical figures I had not know about before. I found this a fascinating book.

Sadly I couldn't get into this book at all. The premise was brilliant and this period of history is one I've always found interesting, but this wasn't for me.
The style seemed disjointed and a little clunky, which meant I just couldn't engage with the characters.

I enjoyed the writing and as I had never even heard of Sancho I'm glad that that gap in my knowledge has been filled. When I started reading the book I hadn't even realised that he was not a fictitious character, but what a life he had, despite being born into slavery. I feel that Paterson Joseph really did his research as I did check some of the details out, particularly the Novar bit as I used to live near that estate.
Thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read the book via NetGalley

The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho is a delightful book, perfect for fans of period drama and other historical fiction. Paterson Joseph has created a wonderful work that breathes life into a man with exuberance and depth, having undergone many trials, that ultimately leads to great feats, including working onstage as Othello and becoming the first black person to cast a vote in England. You truly feel his joy and fear in the happenings of his life; it’s as if you’re there, experiencing them with him. I implore you to read it and not be charmed.

This fits into the fictionalised real lives genre – in this case the life of a black writer and composer who lived in Regency London. As you might expect there are significant challenges facing him – and they are presented in this in the guise of a diary designed for his son to read when he is older (and it is suggested that Sancho will not be around to tell him them himself). Sancho was born on a slave ship and was given as a gift to three sisters who brought him up to be their servant before he escaped from them. I won’t say much more than that because it gives too much away – maybe I have already. The author is the actor Paterson Joseph who has spent two decades researching the life of his main character which he turned into a play before he wrote this novel. I really enjoyed reading it - a fascinating life, interestingly told.

I came to be reading this book because I'm a fan of the acting work of its author and, having heard him talk about the novel in an interview, I was fascinated to see how his debut attempt would turn out. I was quickly drawn into the well-realised world of 18th century London and the life of its protagonist. Born into slavery and with its shadow continually hanging over him, he gradually making his way in the world, all while sharing his inner monologue. The language is brilliant, with surprising turns of phrase and historical observations which demonstrate the great length of time Joseph has spent with this character and researching the period.

Joseph aims for a book in the style of Great Expectations or Tristram Shandy and does a very commendable job of it. Though it drags towards the end, losing a lot of its momentum as the bigger problems are concluded, this is a remarkably assured first attempt. I would be delighted to see whether Joseph follows this up with another novel and how he fares when moving into more unfamiliar territory.

I really enjoy fictionalisations of real life historical characters, and this was a good one. I new nothing about him and went away to find 0ut more. These stories are so important in this BLM times. Thank you.

An excellent piece of historical fiction based on the life of a real person, with period appropriate language and syntax – always appreciated and something all those Jane Austen imitators would do well to study! This was a great book, charting the fortunes and misfortunes of a black Georgian man in 18th C England.

The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho is very much a labour of love, the fruits of the author’s 20-year obsession with Sancho’s story. First brought to life in a one-man show performed in New York, and now in this novel, Paterson Joseph has taken a real person and, in his own words, ‘performed an action of fiction on him’.

The book takes the form of extracts from Sancho’s diaries interspersed with letters to his son, Billy. The diaries document Sancho’s colourful and eventful life, from his birth aboard a slave ship to becoming a successful business man (ironically trading in sugar, cocoa and tobacco, the products of slavery), being the first Black Briton to have the vote and becoming a leading light in the early abolitionist movement. But the diaries also reveal Sancho’s regrets about things he has done or failed to do. He wonders, ‘Why burden a child with his father’s sins? Perhaps these papers are best hidden – discarded?’

Sancho is a delightfully eccentric character and the author has created a distinctive voice for him so you feel he is speaking directly to you. One newspaper review has described it as an act of ‘literary ventriloquism’. I was fortunate enough to hear Paterson reading – or I should say, performing – two excerpts from the book at Henley Literary Festival in October. It was wonderful to hear Sancho brought to life, complete with lisp and rather affected manner of speech. True, Sancho can be a little pompous at times but he is also amusingly self-deprecating about his mistakes. And in the periods when he’s in the very depths of despair your heart bleeds for him. (I guarantee you will feel the same about Tilly, the young woman who assists Sancho at a particularly perilous moment in his life.) Although Sancho experiences periods of terrible hardship and cruelty, he also rubs shoulders with luminaries of Georgian society such as William Hogarth, Samuel Johnson, David Garrick and Thomas Gainsborough, entertaining at musical soirées and even taking to the stage.

However, Sancho is a man stuck in the middle. He’s Black but his life has been spent apart from others like him. He’s experienced a lavish lifestyle but as the child of slaves has no legal status. He’s African by birth but has lived the life of an Englishman, thanks to a wealthy patron, feeling at times that being smartly turned out and slightly portly he does not correspond to the stereotype of a Black person. As he says, ‘I did not present a figure of destitution, but one of gross indulgence.’ At one point he wonders if he will always be ‘the outside man, looking in’.

This changes, in more ways than one, when Sancho meets John Clarke-Osborne. He issues Sancho an invitation: ‘Come with me one day soon, friend. Let me show you how the African entertains himself in London’. In one of the book’s memorable scenes, Sancho is taken to the Black Tar Tavern where he witnesses, pretty much for the first time, those he calls ‘my people’. It’s a lively affair with music and dancing.

In his Author’s Note, Paterson Joseph writes that ‘the reader who awaits a tale filled with whips and curses and rapes and murders of Black People by White People in every chapter […] will not find much to please you’. However we do get an insight into the evils of the slave trade in the section of the book made up of letters between Sancho and his future wife, Anne. These are full of their affection for each other and their hopes for the future. However, Anne’s letters also describe some of the horrific treatment experienced by slaves working on the plantations of Barbados and Antigua.

Charles Ignatius Sancho would be a remarkable character if he was the product of an author’s imagination. That he was a real person makes him even more remarkable. In the words of the author, Charles Ignatius Sancho is “A hero. A man. An African. An Artist. Erudite. Wise. Grand. Flawed”. The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho is a thoroughly entertaining historical novel and an impressive debut.

I enjoyed reading this book, although I did struggle with the vernacular as I am quite common and that was occasionally a barrier

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very intelligent, interesting and educational read fictionalizing the life of Charles Ignatius Sancho a British abolitionist, writer and composer.

Definitely a must read a little slow in places. Recommended.

Joseph Patterson’s novel, The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, is a delight of human triumph! At times harrowing, it relates momentous events in the life of the protagonist, Sancho, who is also the narrator, in diary form to his son as a memento. Hugely informative and powerfully provocative, this novel highlights the difficulties evident in acceptance and being accepted based solely on skin colour and perceived social differences. I thoroughly recommend a reading! Loved it!