Binding: Paperback,
Date of Publication: 02/09/2021,
Pagination: 400 pages,
Series: N/A,
Imprint: Vintage,
Published By: Vintage Publishing,
Book Classification: United Kingdom, Great Britain,
Dimensions: 129 x 196 x 29
ISBN13/EAN/SKU: 9781529110982
Discover how the campaign to end slavery divided Britain and was almost thwarted by some of the most powerful and famous figures of the era.
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING**In 1807, Parliament outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire. But for the next 25 years more than 700,000 people remained enslaved, due to the immensely powerful pro-slavery group the 'West India Interest'.
This ground-breaking history discloses the extent to which the 'Interest' were supported by nearly every figure of the British establishment - fighting, not to abolish slavery, but to maintain it for profit. Gripping and unflinching, The Interest is the long-overdue expose of one of Britain's darkest, most turbulent times.
A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR'Scintillating . . . compulsively readable' Guardian'A magnificent book . . . riveting' Evening Standard'A critical piece of history and a devastating expose' Shashi Tharoor, author of Inglorious Empire'Thoroughly researched and potent' David Lammy MP'Essential reading' Simon Sebag Montefiore