Britons Through Negro Spectacles

Oct 5, 2024 5:27 AM

Author:ABC Merriman-Labor,Bernardine Evaristo,Mohammed Mansary,Bernardine Evaristo

Brought to you by Penguin.

'We shall therefore confine our walk to Central London where people meet on business during the day, and to West London where they meet for pleasure at night. If you will walk about the first City in the British Empire arm in arm with Merriman-Labor, you are sure to see Britons in merriment and at labour, by night and by day, in West and Central London.'

In Britons Through Negro Spectacles Merriman-Labor takes us on a joyous, intoxicating tour of London at the turn of the 20th century. Slyly subverting the colonial gaze usually placed on Africa, he introduces us to the citizens, culture and customs of Britain with a mischievous glint in his eye. This incredible work of social commentary feels a century ahead of its time, and provides unique insights into the intersection between empire, race and community at this important moment in history.

Selected by Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, this series rediscovers and celebrates pioneering books depicting black Britain that remap the nation.

Reviews

Merriman-Labor was clearly way ahead of his time with this razor-sharp satire, with many of his observations both painfully accurate and not entirely without humour

—— Buzz Magazine

A.B.C. Merriman-Labor [is] a pioneer of West African literature who speaks truth to power using irony and wit

—— The Sierra Leone Telegraph

Generous and well researched

—— Rosa Lyster , LRB

An absorbing, well-researched and extremely well-written account of a life that almost defies belief

—— David McCullagh , RTÉ

Superb . . . an even-handed and thrilling gallop through [Dugdale's] improbable life

—— Daily Telegraph

Possibly the most extraordinary book you'll read this year

—— Irish Examiner

Unputdownable . . . jaw-dropping

—— Joe Duffy

It would be hard to overstate how good this book is . . . a fantastic read

—— Eilis O'Hanlon , Sunday Independent

[A] pacey, well-researched book

—— Frank Coughlin , Irish Independent

Well-researched . . . balanced

—— Charles Lysaght , Irish Times

Sean O'Driscoll's fair-minded examination of her extraordinary, often violent life . . . acknowledges her humanity and viciousness

—— Observer

Rich, compelling, and surprising. Fundamental physics can be equal parts awe-inspiring and head-spinning, and Close masterfully captures those qualities in this deeply satisfying tale of Peter Higgs's convoluted, and very human, journey through life and science.

—— author of The Ascent of Information , Caleb Scharf

beautifully, engagingly written ... I was reassured by the characteristic wisdom and honesty of Close's judgement that, while the discovery of the Higgs particle completes the Standard Model of the atom, "Internal completeness is a mathematical requirement, whereas describing the world around us is the demand of natural philosophy". That sentence alone makes Elusive my book of the year.

—— Raymond Tallis , Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year

Frank Close is probably the perfect person to tell the tale of Higgs and his boson. A serious physicist himself, he is also an exceptional author - and, unlike with most authors, his subject actually occasionally speaks to him.

—— Tom Whipple , Times Books of the Year

the first full biography of Higgs ... focuses just as much on Higgs the particle as he does on Higgs the scientist, and the physics concepts he explores can be daunting. But this excellent book is well worth the effort.

—— Mike Perricone , Symmetry Books of the Year

A compelling account of the long search for the Higgs boson

—— Books of the Year , Economist

Because there would be no atoms or molecules without the intervention of the Higgs field, our very existence is a consequence of its reality ... a compulsive read. Besides explaining the physics and exploring the many personalities involved, it also conveys the excitement of physics research, the missed opportunities, the happy coincidences, the false trails, the social networks, the collaborations and professional rivalries. Like an established scientific fact that will stand for all time, this book is a definitive account of an historic scientific achievement.

—— Rick Marshall , Physics Education

Not so much a history book as a book of historical significance

—— BBC History Magazine, *Best Books of 2022*

No other English-language biography has so successfully given us a portrait of him as man and monarch ... superb.

—— Gareth Russell , The Times

The best single-volume account of the reign in any language

—— John Adamson , Sunday Times

Authoritative ... Mansel is ideally positioned to examine Louis' record ... Time and space both yield before Mansel's authorial ambition

—— Minoo Dinshaw , Daily Telegraph

A superb biography ... wonderfully detailed and fluent ... Mansel is alive to every nuance

—— Hamish Robinson , Oldie

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