About the Author

Matthew Parker was born in Central America and spent part of his childhood in the West Indies, acquiring a lifelong fascination with the history of the region. He is the author of Panama Fever, the story of the building of the Panama Canal, and Monte Cassino: The Hardest Fought Battle of World War II. He lives in London. Visit his website at www.matthewparker.co.uk.

Reviews

"An engaging journey to a mercifully vanished world." - "The Wall Street Journal""A tumultuous rollercoaster of a book ... Mr. Parker tells an extraordinary, neglected and shameful story with gusto.""--The Economist " "Gripping....A compendium of greed, horrible ingenuity, and wickedness, but also a fascinating and thoughtful social history." - William Dalrymple, author of "The Last Mughal" and "Nine Lives" "[A] minutely detailed portrait of one corner of Britain's constantly illuminated empire." - "Booklist "
"A rich, multifaceted account of the greed and slavery bolstering the rise of England's mercantile empire." - "Kirkus "
"Successful both as a scholarly introduction to the topic and as an entertaining narrative, this is recommended for readers of any kind of history." - "Library Journal"
"This is a rousing, fluently written narrative history, full of color, dash, and forceful personalities, but it's also a subtle social portrait of plantation life and governance." - "Publishers Weekly"


"Gripping....A compendium of greed, horrible ingenuity, and wickedness, but also a fascinating and thoughtful social history." - William Dalrymple, author of "The Last Mughal" and "Nine Lives" "[A] minutely detailed portrait of one corner of Britain's constantly illuminated empire." - "Booklist "
"A rich, multifaceted account of the greed and slavery bolstering the rise of England's mercantile empire." - "Kirkus "
"Successful both as a scholarly introduction to the topic and as an entertaining narrative, this is recommended for readers of any kind of history." - "Library Journal"
"This is a rousing, fluently written narrative history, full of color, dash, and forceful personalities, but it's also a subtle social portrait of plantation life and governance." - "Publishers Weekly"