Tony lives with his mother and her patron, who’s a merchant for the British East India Company in the 1630’s. Tony is eleven when his mother dies, so her patron arranges for Tony to travel to London with him as a servant. With the gentleman’s death, Tony is left to fend for himself and soon finds work at the docks. It is there that he is kidnapped along with others and sent aboard a ship to Jamestown. Once there, he and the others have been indentured to work the tobacco farms for a wealthy landowner. The work is very difficult, but even when he and his shipboard companions are sent to work for a cruel master, Tony never loses his ability to see beyond his servitude.
Inspired by historical records and sort of Dickensian in nature, Tony’s story is very captivating and gives us a vivid portrayal of life in Jamestown. Tony’s hope for the future, his imagination and his insatiable curiosity about this new world and the people he meets along the way – even while in the midst of some pretty dire circumstances – keep the book from getting bogged down. Perfect for readers who enjoy books by Yaa Giyasi and Nilima Rao.
Posted in: Fiction, Historical Fiction