| Journal of a West India Proprietor Contributor(s): Lewis, Matthew Gregory (Author) |
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ISBN: 1108024858 ISBN-13: 9781108024853 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $46.54 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Travel | Caribbean & West Indies - History | Caribbean & West Indies - General |
| Dewey: 917.292 |
| Lexile Measure: 1280 |
| Series: Cambridge Library Collection: Slavery and Abolition (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.93" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (1.16 lbs) 418 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Caribbean & West Indies |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Matthew 'Monk' Lewis (1775-1818) is best known as a writer of plays and 'Gothic' novels such as The Monk (from which he acquired his nickname). On the death of his father in 1812, he inherited a large fortune, including estates in Jamaica. He spent four months there in 1815, during which time much of this Journal of a West India Proprietor was written. He became interested in the condition of the slaves on his estates, and on returning to England made contact with William Wilberforce and other abolitionists. The improvements he made on his own estates were unpopular with other landholders, but foreshadowed the reforms of the 1830s, when the Journal was published. He revisited the island in 1817, but died of yellow fever on the way home. S. T. Coleridge regarded the Journal as Lewis' best work, and the one most likely to be of lasting value. |