THE FAMILY MANSION

An illuminating and unflinching novel exploring England's 19th-century colonization of Jamaica.

The Family Mansion tells the story of Hartley Fudges, whose personal destiny unfolds against the backdrop of nineteenth-century British culture, a time when English society was based upon the strictest subordination and stratification of the classes. Hartley's decision to migrate to Jamaica at the age of twenty-three seems sensible at first: in the early 1800s Jamaica was far and away the richest and most opulent of all the crown colonies. But for all its fabulous wealth, Jamaica was a difficult and inhospitable place for an immigrant. The complex saga of Hartley's life is revealed in vivid scenes that depict the vicissitudes of ninteenth-century English and Jamaican societies. Aside from violent slave revolts, newcomers had to survive the nemesis of the white man in the tropics—namely, yellow fever. With Hartley's point of view as its primary focus, the narrative transports readers to exotic lands, simultaneously exploring the brutality of England's slavery-based colonization. Anthony C. Winkler was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1942 and is widely recognized as one of the island's finest exports. His novels include The Lunatic (1987; adapted into a feature film), The Duppy (1997), Dog War (2007), and God Carlos (2012). He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.