Joseph Knight

by James Robertson

Exiled to Jamaica after the Battle of Culloden in 1746, Sir John Wedderburn made a fortune, alongside his three brothers, as a faux surgeon and sugar planter. In the 1770s, he returned to Scotland to marry and re-establish the family name. He brought with him Joseph Knight, a black slave and a token of his years in the Caribbean.

Now, in 1802, Sir John Wedderburn is settling his estate, and has hired a solicitor's agent, Archibald Jamieson, to search for his former slave. The past has haunted Wedderburn ever since Culloden, and ever since he last saw Knight, in court twenty-four years ago, in a case that went to the heart of Scottish society, pitting master against slave, white against black, and rich against poor.

As long as Knight is missing, Wedderburn will never be able to escape the past. Yet what will he do if Jamieson's search is successful? And what effect will this re-opening of old wounds have on those around him? Meanwhile, as Jamieson tries to unravel the true story of Joseph Knight he begins to question his own motivation. How can he possibly find a man who does not want to be found?

James Robertson's second novel is a tour de force, the gripping story of a search for a life that stretches over sixty years and moves from battlefields to the plantations of Jamaica, from Enlightenment Edinburgh to the back streets of Dundee. It is a moving narrative of history, identity and ideas, that dramatically retells a fascinating but forgotten episode of Scottish history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Scotland, Fiction, Historical, Novels, 21st Century, British Literature

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

James Robertson (born 1958) is a Scottish writer who grew up in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. He is the author of several short story and poetry collections, and has published four novels: The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack, and And the Land Lay Still. Joseph Knight was named both the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year and the Saltire Society Book of the Year in 2003/04. The Testament of Gideon Mack was long-listed for the 2006 Man Booker Prize. And the Land Lay Still was awarded the Saltire Society Book of the Year Award in 2010. Robertson has also established an independent publishing imprint called Kettillonia, which produces occasional pamphlets and books of poetry and short prose, and he is a co-founder and the general editor of the Scots language imprint Itchy Coo, which produces books in Scots for children and young people. He lives in rural Angus.

Reviews

[Andy Marr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another wonderful novel from one of my very favourite authors.

[dianne b. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Based on a true story, this is fiction about a kidnapped child, sold into slavery in Jamaica, then brought to Scotland where he fought for his freedom, and won.

Too bad we never get to know, or even imagine, him. The whole nearly 400 page slog is about the drunken, conceited, carousing of disgusting, entitled, syphilitic white men. Joseph’s actual purchaser, John, is one of four brothers who move from Scotland to Jamaica to make “their” fortunes. We are to believe that John lives by a vague set of slippery “morals” and is certain he’ll go directly to heaven. The other brother who returns to Scotland is a schmuck, without even a pretense of redeeming qualities. The remaining two die of Yellow Fever.

I continued reading - hoping as the last few pages approached - that some of Mr. Knight, who accomplished an astounding feat, might be glimpsed; but, alas, only a trite “ain’t life grand?” ending awaited.

My problems with this book didn’t end with the extensive pages consumed with the excess alcohol, pseudo-intellectual convos, and dong drops - purchased or forced by the aforementioned, venereally diseased male Scots.

I found the need to look up endless Scottish words irritating. There were sometimes 3 on one page, breaking any flow there may have otherwise been to the story. In a later book by this author, a glossary has been included. I penciled in the definitions of well over 50 before i quit.

And there were no women characters with even a shadow of depth or believability. Occasional appearances by giggling rich girls, long suffering but stoic wives - who frequently die - and a scene or two of Joseph’s basically perfect wife. An attempt to create interest in one of John’s daughters is so contrived as to be laughable. Neither were any of the enslaved, short-lived, brutalized Africans in Jamaica given more than one dimension. They suffered painful deaths bravely, and wordlessly.
No this is a book about (and for?) White boys. Not me.

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this; I found much of it dry and rather academic. It's about real events and people, and it read more like a history book than a novel, especially the court scenes and the tiresome conversations with Samuel Johnson et al. Robertson was so keen to convey period atmosphere that he had pages and pages of description which fell smartly into the trap referred to by David Mitchell:

To get it right, you need to research and research and research. And then you need to hide all your research, otherwise something else happens. You get sentences like, "Milord, would you like me to light the sperm whale oil lantern or would you prefer the cheaper but smokier pig tallow candle?" You burst into laughter and—puff!—the illusion is gone. So you have to get it right, then you have to hide it.

Take page 203, for example, a yawn-inducing description of two women spinning in a cottage that goes on for well over a page. Small sample:

In the cottage lived in by Ann, her mother and her child, tiny thick-glassed windows admitted a minimum of light during the brief winter days, and at night gave out only the faintest flickering indications of life within. The floor was of trodden clay, damp and cold at this time of year. The hearth, built of stone flags, was where their waking life was centred.

I gave it an extra star for the ending; otherwise, it would have been a two-star read. Barry Unsworth did this much better.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand what he tried to do, I think. Showing the world of then and how people thought and acted and the background is that this one slave got his freedom. I liked some of it a lot: the almost sleepy world of the post-Jacobite Scotland whilst the horror of slavery in Scots-owned plantations is unfolding elsewhere. There is barely any woman portrayed but that’s how history is since it’s written mostly by men. I thought some of the dialogue witty or interesting but I could not love this book. It lacked “humans” all the characters felt just like that: characters. I did not expect to like anyone, I don’t need that to enjoy a book but I want the people to feel real and to me, they never did.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Nations and people are largely the stories they feed themselves. If they tell themselves stories that are lies, they will suffer the future consequences of those lies. If they tell themselves stories that face their own truths, they will free their histories for future flowerings.” – Ben Orki, Birds of Heaven

Optimist: I loved this inscription.

Cynic: Flowery words. Don’t you think the focus should be on the overwhelming evil of slavery rather than the rehabilitation of the country responsible for it?

Optimist: I don’t think it’s going for rehabilitation - it’s going for an honesty entirely missing from the Scottish historical narrative. Our view of our own history is flowery and romanticised. Scots consider Wallace and Bruce and the Jacobite rebellions as our true history and the Empire as somehow English business. This book’s great triumph is in exposing this lie. Joseph Knight’s slave-owner was out for Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden and it was immediately after the defeat that he fled to the colonies to build his slave enterprise. By the time he gets back to Scotland his contemporaries already see his old allegiances as romantic and quaint rather than political because by this time Scotland, former Jacobites and Hanovarians alike, are active and enthusiastic participants in slavery and the Empire.

Cynic: I was terrified as we got closer and closer to the end that Robertson was actually going for some dreadful “slave or slave-master; we’re all the same and it’s all part of our shared human experience” bullshit.

Optimist: He wasn’t though.

Cynic: No he wasn’t and thank Christ for that. But it did exemplify an actual problem with the book. A few other reviews have had an issue with Knight’s voice being left out of the majority of it and I have to say I agree.

Optimist: I think the format was entirely appropriate and the build up to Joseph Knight’s ‘reveal’ (of sorts) is titillating. Throughout the novel we’re fascinated about who Joseph Knight will be, obsessed with the “impossible man with his impossible name.” And when we do eventually get to hear his voice he not only gets the final word but undeniably the definitive one.

Cynic: I’ll give you that the pacing is excellent for the first half and I found criticisms that Robertson got caught-up in minute historical detail wide of the mark, since the novel sweeps decades in only a few chapters. But it was the latter half which dragged. The book could have lost 100 pages, easily, and been all the better for it. Leaving Knight’s voice until last would have been highly effective in a shorter novel but as it stands there’s a point where the mystery of Joseph Knight stops being interesting and just becomes tedious.

Optimist: I had similar reservations about the second-half of the book but I think the final chapter made it all worth it.

Cynic: It’s no Gideon Mack is all I’m saying.

Optimist: Christ, will you stop with Gideon Mack. If you keep comparing Robertson’s other novels to Gideon Mack it’s your own fault if you continue to be disappointed.

Cynic: It's true though.

Optimist: You're unbearable.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s hard to believe that a man can sit down one day with an idea that has developed in his mind and then starts to meticulously plan and construct a story like this, with all its intricacies, eventually producing such a marvellous novel as ‘Joseph Knight’. I’m quite in awe of this author and his work here. It’s not just a story but an examination of history, freedom, morals and principles.

The book is about the search for Joseph Knight, an African who was the subject of an pivotal court case in 18th century Scotland, deciding whether a slave bought and sold in Jamaica can remain a slave once he has been transported to live in Scotland. Based on a true story, this gives us the history of the slave’s master, John Wedderburn, a many sided character who exemplifies the duplicitous nature of Scottish Society at the time – a society which supports a great moral stand but at the same time is content to base its success on the foundations of slavery.

The search for Joseph Knight is conducted on our behalf by Archibald Jamieson, an enquiry agent. Initially, it’s just a job to do but Archibald becomes more and more intrigued by the true character of Joseph Knight. And the intrigue built for meal so. At the same time, the story gives a touching examination of character and humanity.

I thought the final chapter of this book was just superb. It comes as quite an emotional release as it fills all the gaps and finally gets you into the mind of Joseph Knight, who as a character is largely missing from the narrative up to that point.

While this is great story telling, it takes a little stamina. It’s not as concise as it might be and you have to be prepared for a few diversions from the main thread. But the quality carries it through. I particularly enjoyed the courtroom scene mostly conducted in Scots and the eye opening final chapter.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Loved this. I'm familiar with Robertson's style but now and really enjoy the mix of fact and fiction in old Scotland.

Loved the settings of Jamaica, Dundee, Edinburgh and Perthshire too.

A thought provoking read about Scotland's slave trade past. Recommended.

Need to read the rest of Robertson's stuff now too.

[Aaron West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book while in Scotland and I'm very glad I picked it up. James Robertson comes highly recommended (by Ben), and that was good enough for me to take a chance on this one. Having traveled to Culloden, through Edinburgh and the Highlands--the book came all the more alive for me. I could picture the places mentioned in the book.

The plot centers the enigmatic figure of Joseph Knight, a boy taken in chattel slavery and sold to a plantation owner in Jamaica, John Wedderburn, who gains his freedom in Scotland in a highly publicized trial in the early 19th century. The story weaves in-between flashbacks and forwards and throughout the perspectives of a cast of interesting, interwoven characters. The way Robertson played with time and setting was fairly well done, I thought, and I loved how at first Knight is a secondary feature of the story--a name that every character is exploring or discovering through tales, records, and an infamous journal--but slowly becomes more prominent as the chapters go on.

The story literally traverses from John Wedderburn's perspective to Joseph Knight's by the end of the novel in the last chapter--the first from Knight's point of view. I thought Robertson, while not shying away from the horrors of slavery, more or less treated the subject fairly and was able to capture the language and ideas surrounding the enslaved and black men and women during this time rather accurately. It makes you shudder, the way the Scots often speak of the enslaved--but it should. It does.

In all, this was solid historical fiction. It wasn't without its slow parts--some characters were overly-featured for their role in the plot, but the interweaving of the story and chapters and perspectives easily earned it a fours stars from me.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this as a present for Christmas 2014, but it took me 9 months to get round to reading it. This is one of those books that for me fell somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, so I have been slightly generous with a 4-star marking.

The novel has a strong theme, being based on a real 18th century court case. Joseph Knight, a house slave on a Jamaican plantation, was taken to Scotland by his owner, John Wedderburn, when the latter returned home to Scotland to live. Cutting a long story short, Knight was then the centre of a court case which established that to hold another person in slavery was not compatible with Scots Law (no spoiler - the case is a matter of public record and the outcome is in any case made clear at the beginning of the book).

Despite "Joseph Knight" being the title of the novel, for most of the book he is only a peripheral character. The two major characters are Wedderburn himself and one Archibald Jamieson, who in the novel is a sort of early private detective, employed by Wedderburn near the end of his life to find out what became of Joseph Knight after he won his freedom. I thought both were well drawn and there is additionally a strong cast of supporting characters.

I was impressed with the spoken dialogue in the story. For me it seemed to have the right period "feel" to it. The spoken dialogue is in Scots dialect but the author keeps it mild and I would think most people should be able to follow it (easy for me to say maybe...)

I wouldn't describe this as a "gripping" read. I read it at a fairly leisurely pace, and there is one longish chapter that features the court case, that really lacked any sense of drama. Overall though it did hold my interest.

[Sarah Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read several Robertson books and as usual this one gives real insight into Scotland in such a thoughtful way. I found it hard to get into this at first, but once I had I felt like I was being given a bit of our past back. It’s cleverly written with one of the characters being a detective and following the sort of process I imagine Robertson himself must have had to do to uncover this hidden story. If you like historical fiction- read this! If you want to think about Scotland’s past and place in the world- you won’t be disappointed

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. It took too long to introduce the title character. For people interested in Scottish history and Scottish aristocracy, it was an eye opener on how the rich Scots made their money in the Colonies. Too much Scottish vernacular. A lot of irrelevant scenes such as Boswell and Johnson in Scotland.
I do not get the connection between the battle of Culloden and the battle to claim ownership of a slave.

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining if overlong telling of the story of Joseph Knight. This was a pivotal moment in black history: a slave is given his freedom but must live with the hypocrises and spectres of his past.

Exemplary Scots dialect, canny plotting and humorous digressions abound. Historical novels aren't my teacup, but I was pleasantly involved despite myself. (Though 100 pages could be sliced, easily).

[Padavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt there were several novels fighting for prominence within the covers. The Boswell/ Hume aspects were interesting from a historical perspective but got in the way of the narrative. I would like to read a novel about Knight's 'missing' years though.

[Alison Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been so much more, instead it lurched from one thing to another never really finding a rhythm. The characters I wanted to hear from were barely represented, instead we hear a lot of about despicably entitled white men on both sides of this moral argument.

[Scott Neigh]

Historical fiction. About slavery and Scotland. Built around the actual historical case that led in 1777 to the establishment of the principle that Scots law did not uphold slavery, at least domestically. Joseph Knight is the enslaved man at the centre of this case, originally kidnapped from west Africa and brought to Jamaica, and then Scotland. The book, however, mostly follows the perspectives of the member of the Scottish gentry (and plantation owner) to whom Knight was enslaved, those around him, and other participants in the case. It switches between two timelines, one at the end of the rich man's life, when he is wrapping up his affairs and has hired the 19th century equivalent of a private investigator to find Knight, who had not been seen since the legal victory that freed him decades before, and one starting from his youthful participation on the losing side of the Battle of Culloden in 1746, through his time in Jamaica, his return to Scotland with Knight, and the climactic court case.

A concern that jumps off the page fairly early on is that this is a book about slavery written by a white Scottish author, following almost entirely white Scottish characters. I'd be interested in the perspective of Black Scottish reviewers on this point, of course, but this seems to largely be an attempt to explore (white) Scottish complicity, and my own sense is that it more or less succeeds as an intervention directed at slavery's (latter-day, often indirect) beneficiaries to unsettle inherited myths of innocence and virtue. On the one hand, there are rousing and self-congratulatory words about liberty spouted by anti-slavery lawyers connected with the court case, but the book as a whole presents quite clearly the inherent brutality of slavery and the ways in which Scotland profoundly benefited from it before this case was decided and long after (i.e. to this day). I also appreciated the way that it makes clear that Blackness is nothing new in Scotland or in the UK as a whole – the plantation-owning baronet asks his PI how hard can it really be to find a Black man in early 19th century Scotland, and the PI points out that, in fact, there are more Black people in the country, particularly in the Glasgow area, than his employer presumes, and many more than that to the south in the biggest English cities. In a somewhat more understated way, it also demonstrates how the turn to colonization and slavery, and being awarded a share of the spoils of empire by London, was central to Scotland moving forward from the confessional and dynastic divisions that had their bloody climax at Culloden. So I would certainly suggest this not be the sum total of anyone's learning about slavery and Scotland, but it is a useful contribution.

The writing was good, and the storytelling was a slow and low-key sort that I associate (perhaps unfairly?) with historical fiction – it certainly worked here. I would say the pacing of the book was a little off in the second half, which could have been tightened up and told just as effectively in fewer pages. But, on the other hand, I didn't mind, because at least some of what might be considered extra was spent immersed in middle-class Edinburgh through the lawyers who took up the case and various famous people with whom they interacted – there is one branch of my family that I know goes back to middle-class Edinburgh (albeit a much less august layer than its representatives in this book) in at least the early 19th century and perhaps earlier, so I appreciated getting this glimpse of that world in the mid-to-late 18th century. I also enjoyed that much of the dialogue is written in Scots. Definitely would recommend.

[Ellen Forkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had to take the book back to library (was overdue, bad Ellen!) so relying on memory on a quite complicated story.

I love James Robertson as an author, so my expectations were high. Predictably, I loved it but for much different reasons than for his other books. It was historical fiction (a genre I adore) and therefore very different to his usual quirky and sometimes surreal style.

The book was highly detailed with the characters lives woven in and out of not just each other but also between different years and timescales. We witnessed a moment of Culloden, various years of the horrors of slave plantations, and a sleepier post-Jacobite Scotland. Jospeh Knight - a slave brought to Scotland who sought freedom on Scottish soil - is almost a ghost-like hero throughout the book. Little glimpses of him are seen through opinions and memories, but mostly he is remembered for the effect of his momentous lawsuit that shook the foundations of the Scottish slave industry. (I read somewhere that this was based on a true story and I certainly hope it is!) Some of the conversations surrounded slavery and said treatment of slaves was hard to read and made me shiver and squirm. Very cleverly done, written from the perspective of the plantation owners and lawyers, the white people justifying their horrific practices.

I realise I could go on and on... A good heartfelt book with serious undertones and delightfully Scottish for my Read Scotland challenge. (Goodreads group: Read Scotland 2018)

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I've found a new favourite author. This book is based on the true story of Joseph Knight, a slave kidnapped from Africa and transported to Jamaica, bought by Scotsman and plantation owner John Wedderburn, and later brought to Scotland to be Wedderburn's personal valet when Wedderburn decided to return to the homeland with his plantation riches. But Scottish law didn't allow for slavery (on its own soil, anyway), and Joseph Knight sued for the right to be a free man in Scotland. The lawsuit was a landmark case, affecting the rights of other 'perpetual servants' in the country.

As with The Testament of Gideon Mack, the writing sucked me right into the narrative. Hours would fly by as I lost myself in the world of Knight, Wedderburn, and their associates. Even minor characters were carefully drawn and sympathetic, and while the book didn't feel bogged down with description, I felt like I was in Jamaica and in the Scottish Highlands and on a tempestuous sea between the two lands. And the history was fascinating to me--it's disheartening to know how many of the grand buildings in Glasgow were built using West Indies plantation money.

It's worth noting that much of the dialogue is written in Scots dialect with plenty of 19th-century Scottish words thrown into the mix. It's not the sort of thing you can skim. I kept my Scots-English dictionary handy while reading the book.

[Malcolm MacLaren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Knight, the novel, is part history, part detective fiction. It’s the story of John Wedderburn, an exiled ex-Jacobite, his enslaved servant Joseph Knight, and the legal battle between them when Wedderburn brought Knight to Scotland and Knight fought for his freedom. It is a very well told story with a historically accurate background (I’ve recently completed a master’s degree in Scottish History and studied the case) but it is much more than that.

From post-Culloden Jacobite flight, to the hell of the plantations of Jamaica, the novel takes the reader back and forth between Scotland and what Walter Scott called ‘yonder awa’, with shifting timeframes encompassing some sixty years (and including late 18th century Edinburgh’s enlightenment). Robertson brings the past to life through his effective creation of character, his realising of convincing situations, his (often incisive and sparky) dialogue, his incorporation of ideas, and his propulsive narrative.

The novel is a quest, an imaginative search for a missing man, an imagining of the unknown based on the facts which are known, brilliantly told. Knight is a background figure for most of the book, which some have found problematic: for me, that’s the point - Robertson’s book is a search, for a man and for answers. It is a book about causes and consequences.

Robertson has written a superb examination into many aspects of Scottish history and identity. Scotland’s involvement in Atlantic slavery is exposed in all its brutality (I studied that too - it’s an ugly part of our history, but one that must be faced if we hope to keep improving as a society). The book opens with a very apposite quote from writer Ben Okri, about the importance of nations acknowledging and dealing with their histories.

This novel is the best form of historical fiction. Tragic and moving, appalling and disturbing, but also hopeful and often very funny - the character of Archibald Jamieson is a joy, as are the scenes of enlightenment Edinburgh - it takes the reader back to an important part of Scotland’s past and makes that past come to life. Very well written, with a great use of Scots language in some of the dialogue (but don’t be put off - it’s all very understandable), Joseph Knight the novel is superb.

Robertson is a brilliant, thoughtful novelist. Read him.

[Jacob Heartstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read on all counts.

I love the writing style as well as the way the topic is dealt with. The author knows how to write super fleshed-out individual characters without once overdoing it, as well as getting across a bunch of highly sensitive information without it once feeling like info-dumping while maintaining the suspension arch without once straying too far from the core narrative. Prior to reading this I knew basically nothing about Scotland's involvement in the plantation trade and its history with slavery but I feel like this book manages quite well to give a broad overview, and illuminating different perspectives while it is at it.

The narrative structure, too, fits the storyline to a tee: The way that different episodes of Joseph Knight's story are narrated by different people give more gravitas to its eventual outcome and the way the author has different key characters recount what they know/remember of their association with Joseph Knight thus letting the story unfold primarily through a patchwork of different narratives, worked very well for me.

This is both very informative, educational and a joy to read which is the best combination and what I am looking for in really good books. Would strongly recommend this one!

[Malcolm David Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure how to rate this, so I looked at some of the other reviews and I was struck by how much the negative reviews contradict each other. Too academic, too trashy, too long, not enough detail, focuses on the depressing details of slavery, ignores slavery. Too many Scottish words, complains one reviewer of this book that is mostly set in 18th-century Scotland, where for some reason people didn't speak like Huckleberry Finn. I do agree that the title is misleading as it is about the search for Joseph Knight rather than the man himself, but what the author does is force the Scots to examine our own role in the history of slavery. The difficulty is doing so without being simplistic, seeing ourselves as solely on the side of good or as solely on the side of evil, and James Robertson pulls this off. It didn't quite move me in the way that "And the Land Lay Still" did (but then I lived through many of the events in that book), but it still made me think, and occasionally laugh.

[Donald Leitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical novel presents one story associated with Scotland's connection to slavery. John Wedderburn and his brothers fled to Jamaica following 1746 where they developed two successful sugar plantations. The success of these plantations was attributable to slave labour and the Wedderburn management skills. John Wedderburn eventually returned to Scotland a wealthy man, bringing with him one slave, Joseph Knight.
The author, James Robertson, convincingly tells this historical story about slavery, taking the reader back and forth over more than 55 years of time, slowly revealing pertinent aspects of the slave trade and Joseph Knight's pursuit of freedom, all within the guise of a mystery concerning Joseph Knight. Eventually, all the pieces come together. Joseph Knight, despite being the title of the book, does not make an appearance until about half way thought the novel, remaining something of an enigma throughout.
Robertson's novel is engaging and well written.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual choice of genre but one my dad suggested. Being from Scotland and the current state of affairs, I thought it timely to learn more about history than the Vikings I was taught at school...

I found this book a tad laborious it parts yet fast-paced in others. You could tell a huge amount of research had been done (always a big tick in my eyes) but it’s the ability to transfer that knowledge on to paper and weave into a story without simply regurgitating the history books. I found this to be the case at times but overall, a thought provoking story.

I do wish more Black voices had been heard, other than Burnet’s . I did appreciate Robertson’s attempt however at the varying opinions of each character even if they were a bit cliched and hammy (eg Margaret). However, the closing chapter when you finally hear Knight’s voice, was a whole mixture of relief, sadness and happiness.

Overall, 3.5 stars for me.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complex story of complex men and their motivations.

I liked this book immensely. I admired the unapologetic exposure of an era of Scots history that has seldom been acknowledged, let alone dramatised; namely slavery, the triangular trade and the lives it transported and devastated. The book is not a mere voyeuristic dramatisation of this abusive debasement of human beings. The characters and motivations of the abusers are as well defined as the character of the slave, Joseph Knight. I admire James Robertson’s ability to write in Scots so well; the voices are instantly distinct and clear and the story gains a distinct historical authenticity. I grew up in a household where “a true story” was deemed worthy of attention. Joseph Knight is such a story.

[Cormac Healy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reluctant to give this 5 stars having just done so with another book, and I don't like the idea that I am becoming too easy to please. But here we are.

This is as good as historical fiction can be. Detailed, evocative, interesting, exciting. Scottish. It has the lot.

The book builds towards the court case between an enslaved person and his Scottish owner, an historical legal precedent in Scotland, and has you torn about the emotions you feel towards the slave-holding main character. The way you are invested in the legal nuance and arguments being made is masterful, and I felt with the use of Sots language you really felt like you could sense the drama.

Would completely and whole-heartedly recommend. 5/5

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very difficult book to read. The writing is excellent! The challenge however is the author's use of the dialects of the era. I found I did not read the words but envisioned hearing the conversations. This makes the story better but takes time. It helps if you are familiar with Scots expressions.

It is also a difficult topic. It follows a family, the father who was a rebel at Culloden. Escaping Scotland , the sons go to Jamaica where they become very prosperous in the sugar trade using slaves. The graphic detail of the horrors of slavery and the realities of the sugar trade is hard to deal with in our generation. What makes it particularly hard is that it is a true story.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book which entertains and informs. I have enjoyed reading many of James Robertson's novels this year.
From Culloden to Jamaica and back to Scotland,each with their own brutality and self justification.
This man writes so well. You are so quickly drawn in and carried along. Now back to The Sellout which with its pages of quotes in praise should be brilliant but so far it is obeying my first law, that the more full some the praise by the literary cognoscenti the more impenetrable it will be for the rest of us.

[Lynne Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a book! This is the 3rd book I've read written by this author and all have been v good but this stands out. The way he builds his characters, the exquisite way he writes! It's not an easy read by any means, the detail of what black people, who were kidnapped and enslaved, experienced is pretty hard to bear. It is the story of one such slave, a man who fights long and hard through a complex court case to release himself from his 'good' slave master, based on a real case local to where I live in the carse of gowrie. Very very good book!

[Jo Larkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel. It is a good story, based on a real legal case and brilliantly told. It feels really authentic with its descriptions of life aboard a slave ship, on a Jamaican sugar plantation, in Enlightenment Edinburgh or the back streets of Dundee and the coal mines at Wemyss, Fife between 1745 and 1803. The Scots also plays its part in creating that authenticity, which I appreciated and found straightforward to read.
“An enquiry into the defining quality of freedom”.

[Keith Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical novel exploring slavery and Scotland based on an actual case of a slave suing for his freedom. Subtle comparison of those Jacobite supporters all crying for freedom becoming the oppressors in Jamaica.Real characters like James Boswell do appear and the whole slavery issue is discussed.Presumably because of the lack of sources the central character remains less well drawn than the Scottish family around him.