* A huge Thank you, to Robert Derry for sending me a copy of his book to read in exchange for an honest review; and to Anne for organising another fantastic book tour!
The Brothers by Robert Derry
Synopsis
“When I entered the city, I entered it with an undaunted
spirit, determined that no labour should make me shrink, no danger nor even
persecution deter me from my pursuit.”
Thomas Clarkson was the ‘moral steam engine’ behind the
abolitionist movement of the late eighteenth century, without whom The Society
for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade would have been bereft of its
champion. The Brothers tells the story of the early years of their struggle and
the tale of a slave ship, The Brothers, as it departs from the port of Bristol
enroute to the Guinea Coast, under the vicious Captain Howlett. It traces the
arduous journey of Clarkson, as he gathers evidence against The Trade from the
slaving ports of England and the political efforts of Granville Sharp who, with
the help of the Society, bring their first bill before a reluctant parliament.
A disillusioned Doctor Gardiner, ship’s surgeon aboard The Brothers, agrees to keep
a journal as evidence for the investigation, to record first-hand in all its
horrors the maltreatment of slaves and crew at the hands of the sadistic
officers, for whom the venture is all about one thing and one thing alone –
profit. A young boy escapes from the clutches of the Bristol mob to find
himself in service in Sharp’s plush London residence, as four thousand miles
away in the Caribbean, The Brothers sails away from its crime against humanity.
But another force is rising from the very timbers of the
ship’s blood-infused frame – a nightmare that will push the troubled doctor to
the very edge of insanity and threaten to bring a timely judgement upon them
all.
My review
Wow! What a book. An incredible amount of research went into
writing this. Derry didn’t leave out any of the horrific details, he told this
story as it should be told. As harrowing as it is to read, we should ALL educate
ourselves on this awful and unforgivable part of our history. The transatlantic
slave trade is something I am continuously educating myself on. I am in my
thirties and for reasons unknown, I didn’t learn about it in school. A book
like this would have been so beneficial, it is a great starting point in
learning more. I recommend that everyone reads The Brothers!
I could tell from the get-go how much the author truly cares
about this subject, and I loved his dedication at the start of the book “In
memory of the millions of African lives that were stolen, their names lost to
history, before and since the abolitionist cause was won …”
Thomas Clarkson’s quest for the abolition cause is
relentless, it’s something he feels he is destined to be part of. He is
incredibly passionate about ending slavery and he travels around the country
gaining evidence to support the argument. Early on in The Brothers, I was
worried that Clarkson may end up with a bit of a white saviour complex,
however, Derry cleverly and discreetly addresses this when he humbles Clarkson
during a sermon he gives.
During the story, we follow Clarkson and some of the other
men who dedicated their lives to the abolitionist cause. We also read the diary
of a slave ship’s doctor, onboard The Brothers, who gives us all the horrific
details of what happened on a slave ship. It is heart-breaking to read, but
necessary in telling the story. We also learn a little about the ship’s crew,
something not normally discussed. Although it’s hard to feel any sympathy for sailors
on board the slave ships, Derry does highlight the underhand way that some of
the sailors came to be aboard the ship in the first place and how some of them suffered
cruelty at the hands of the captain and other members of the crew (Although not
on the same level as what the enslaved people experienced).
The Brothers is a work of fiction, but obviously, the story
is heavily rooted in fact and there are lots of real historical
figures featured in the book. My favourite fictional character was a little boy
called Addae, I desperately want Derry to write another story centred around
him! Addae is also part of a twist which is revealed at the end of the book.
5/5 Stars, Brilliant!
Meet the author
I am a HR Consultant living in Bristol, England.
Educated at Lancaster University, I have a passion for
history, especially the pre-industrial age and have written several novels, one
of which – The Waterman – was long listed for the Novel London Literary Prize
in 2021.
Other published works include The Burning and The Brothers.
I have a fascination with the supernatural and the
paranormal world is often not far from the centre of my stories, something that
I have enjoyed since my teenage years when the likes of James Herbert and
Stephen King, as well as the classics of MR James, were first explored. Since
then, I have continued to enjoy more modern works in this genre from Peter
James and Susan Hill, but I also like to read widely though somewhat
selectively. Books from outside the horror genre that have captured my
imagination over the years include: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, The
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.
I have several works in progress including an as yet unnamedtale
of an infantryman still scarred by the death and destruction of WWI, as he ekes
out an existence as Morecambe’s Punch and Judy man on England’s exposed
North-Western coast.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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