Name: Sugar in the Blood
ISBN: 9780307272836

Andrea Stuart

The author of The Rose of Martinique presents a history of the interdependence of sugar, slavery and colonial settlement in the New World through the story of the author's ancestors, exploring the myriad connections between sugar cultivation and her family's identity, genealogy and financial stability.

A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire

Sugar in the Blood

Melanie Richards

A beautifully-written account of the complicated history of sugar in Barbados and beyond, told through the lens of the author's family lineage. This is one of the best history books I have read, but I would have loved to hear more about the later generations of the family, whereas a good deal of time was spent on the first white settlers. As Stuart herself notes, this has a lot to do with what information is available. She probably also feels more comfortable to speculate about family members she had never met based on historical context ("George probably felt that...") than with family members who she knew more about and could possibly disservice.

I also feel it is a mark of good nonfiction that I would want to dive deeper in topics touched upon, and would invite recommendations for books on the Haitian revolution.

Sugar in the Blood A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire

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