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Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho

by Paterson Joseph | Biographies & Memoirs |
ISBN: 9780349702384 Global Overview for this book
Registered by KKslibrary of Ascot Vale, Victoria Australia on 1/12/2025
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2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by KKslibrary from Ascot Vale, Victoria Australia on Sunday, January 12, 2025
I really struggled to get into this book, and I really wanted to like Sancho, but found it very difficult to connect with him in the beginning. I am not sure if it was the format or the writing style that made it difficult for to be more engaged. I found his story interesting and admired his courage and intellect and what he did manage to achieve. The story of his life was told through a diary which he passed onto to his son. Sancho was born on a slave ship, his mother dying in childbirth and his father killing himself. The 2 year old Sancho was given as a slave to 3 spinster sisters living in Greenwich. He befriended Duke John Montagu who saw Sancho’s intellect and educated him. Sancho managed to escape the sisters at 18. He married Anne and had a number of children with her and eventually became a shop owner before his death.

Journal Entry 2 by KKslibrary at Ascot Vale, Victoria Australia on Sunday, January 12, 2025

Released 4 wks ago (1/12/2025 UTC) at Ascot Vale, Victoria Australia

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

First book in the Bookgrocer box for 2025. To be passed onto fellow Bookcrosser Jean-Sol to read.

Journal Entry 3 by wingJean-Solwing at Ascot Vale, Victoria Australia on Monday, January 13, 2025
Delivered to my door today, thank you! I will get onto it as soon as I have finished my current book as I'd like to have it done and dusted by the end of the month. It does look intriguing.

Journal Entry 4 by wingJean-Solwing at Ascot Vale, Victoria Australia on Thursday, January 30, 2025
The first quarter of the book was quite a slog for me after two months of reading crime novels but once I got my head around the style and substance of it the rest flew by. What worked for me was the vivid depiction of Georgian London and I could follow Sancho’s whereabouts in my head or on a map. I also relied on Wikipedia and other internet sources to learn more about Sancho, his achievements and his time, and all the famous people he encounters. I also found the Gainsborough portrait! Whilst it is entirely fictional, Sancho’s (and, to a certain extent, Anne’s) unease and uncertainty about himself and the place in society made the book worth reading for me and raised many questions. Finally, I loved the walking audio on the back cover and will try to cover it next time I am in London with enough time to spare! For me it was also a strong reflexion on and reminder of the constant whitewashing of our Western societies. The author is a well-known British actor and this is his first book. It was awarded the 2023 Royal Society of Literature (RSL) Christopher Bland Prize.

Now ready to travel again.

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