MR ATKINSON’'S RUM CONTRACT

Sub-titled 'The Story of a Tangled Inheritance', what would you do if you found out that your ancestors were slave owners? Richard Atkinson was in his late 30s and approaching a milestone he had long dreaded, the age at which his father died, when one day he came across a box of old family letters gathering dust on top of a cupboard. This discovery set him on an all-consuming, highly emotional journey, ultimately taking him from the weather-beaten house of his Cumbrian ancestors to the abandoned ruins of their sugar estate in Jamaica. His search has led him to one forebear in particular, an earlier Richard Atkinson, a West India merchant who had shipped all the British army's supplies during the American War of Independence, and amassed staggering wealth and connections along the way. 'Rum' Atkinson died young, at the height of his powers, leaving a vast inheritance to his many nephews and nieces, as well as the society beauty who had refused his proposal of marriage. Described as 'a real page-turner, the subject matter is Georgian-era merchants, early merchant banks, the American War of Independence, slavery, trade, war with France, sugar and abolition', and defying classification, this is part political thriller and definitely a history of what could be described as a British Alexander Hamilton figure. 502pp including historical line art and colour photos and other images.