{"product_id":"drax-of-drax-hall-9780745352039","title":"Drax of Drax Hall","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Important and timely ... Paul Lashmar uses the story of the Drax family's history as enslavers in Barbados as a microcosm of Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade\"\u003c\/b\u003e Laura Trevelyan, journalist and author of \u003ci\u003eA Very British Family\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A family story straight out of \u003ci\u003eGame of Thrones\u003c\/i\u003e ... Old-school investigative reporting married with a fearless historian's eye for the truth. A brilliant book that anyone still trying to defend Britain's colonial history in the Caribbean will choke on\"\u003c\/b\u003e Alex Renton, author of \u003ci\u003eBlood Legacy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A timely retelling of the story of how one Englishman led the introduction of sugar and racial slavery to the Caribbean, as well as an eye-opening exploration of how the vast resulting profits were consolidated and enjoyed by generations of his descendants\"\u003c\/b\u003e Matthew Parker, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sugar Barons\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This book is a must-read\"\u003c\/b\u003e Jon Lee Anderson, journalist, \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Spanning 400 years, \u003ci\u003eDrax of Drax Hall\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of a plantation owning dynasty that has never been told. It all started when James Drax, one of the first settlers in Barbados in 1627, founded the British sugar industry. His descendants went on to write the book on how to run a slave plantation. For more than two hundred years, the family enslaved up to 330 people at any time and became enormously rich. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Today, the bloodline is unbroken, and former Tory MP Richard Drax heads the family from his vast Charborough Estate in Dorset. With physical assets worth at least  150m--not to mention the 621-acre sugar plantation in Barbados--he was the wealthiest landowner in the House of Commons. Today, he remains a hero amongst traditionalists and culture warriors for his refusal to make any public reparations for his family's historical role in slavery. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDrax of Drax Hall\u003c\/i\u003e lifts the lid on a grotesque period of the family's history. Through enclosure at home and enslavement abroad, their exploits expose the ugly realities of colonialism and empire--the legacies of which we have yet to confront. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePAUL LASHMAR\u003c\/b\u003e is an investigative journalist and Reader in Journalism at City St George's, University of London. He has taken an interest in the history of slavery since he developed a Channel 4 series on Britain's slave trade in 1999. Paul has been on the staff of \u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, Granada Television's \u003ci\u003eWorld in \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eAction\u003c\/i\u003e current affairs series and \u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of six books and lives in Dorset. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e Paul Lashmar is Reader in Journalism at City St George's, University of London. He has taken an interest in the history of slavery since he developed a Channel 4 series on Britain's slave trade in 1999. He has been an investigative journalist in television and print, and on the staff of \u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, Granada Television's \u003ci\u003eWorld in Action\u003c\/i\u003e current affairs series and \u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of six books. He lives in Dorset. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e David Adetayo Olusoga OBE is a historian, writer, broadcaster, presenter and filmmaker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He has presented historical documentaries on the BBC and contributed to The One Show on the BBC and \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Pluto Press (UK)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51890594840850,"sku":"9780745352039","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_32909030-21bd-45c5-b335-2b484726140d.jpg?v=1768310006","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/drax-of-drax-hall-9780745352039","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}