by Judy Raymond

This imaginative book throws new light on the closing years of Caribbean slavery and the lives of enslaved people of African descent before emancipation in Trinidad in 1834. The book centres on the drawings of plantation life by Richard Bridgens, an English-born artist who became a planter and slaveholder in Trinidad, and examines these in the context of contemporary documents, records, and writings. The result is a detailed written and visual account of the everyday life of enslaved people, the conditions under which they lived and worked, and the new creole culture they were beginning to create.

Judy Raymond, in a deeply researched and elegantly written book, has shed light on Bridgens’ career, and has closely analyzed his remarkable drawings—including a few never before published. This engaging and enlightening book crosses genres, combining biography, history and art criticism, and makes a significant contribution to Caribbean art history and to our understanding of slavery in Trinidad during its last decade.—Bridget Brereton, Emerita Professor of History, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago

These shadows stretch long across the Savannah in the late afternoon light. They enlighten far more than they shade. In these shadows the life of a man is revealed, meticulously researched, directly communicated, exacting as exact. Just so do we in truth find ourselves in the shadows.—Peter Minshall, Masman Artist

Judy Raymond has been a journalist in Trinidad and Tobago for over 25 years and was editor-in-chief of the country’s oldest daily newspaper, the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and a M.A. from the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University. 

194 pp., softcover, 6 x 9 inches. 

Cat. #: CSP5197
ISBN #: 9781626325197