{"product_id":"the-family-mansion-paperback","title":"The Family Mansion - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAnthony C. Winkler\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eThe Family Mansion\u003c\/em\u003e is a little bit story, a little bit rollicking history lesson and a little bit philosophical treatise . . . well written with a tastefully applied zing of humor in just the right places.\"--\u003cem\u003eSacramento Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Winkler may be the best novelist you've never heard of. He continues the brilliant, irreverent recasting of Europe's colonization of Jamaica . . . Winkler tells a story seeped in satire, sex and humor. Another textbook example of fine fiction writing.\" --\u003cem\u003eAtlanta Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Family Mansion\u003c\/em\u003e is a historical novel that tells the story of Hartley Fudges, whose personal destiny unfolds against the backdrop of 19th-century British culture, a time when English society was based upon the strictest subordination and stratification of the classes. As the second son of a hereditary duke and his father's favorite, Hartley, under different circumstances, might have inherited the inside track to his father's estate and titles. But the English law of succession was rigidly dictated by the principle of male primogeniture, with all the property, assets, titles, and debts devolving to the firstborn son and his issue, leaving nothing for the other sons.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike many second sons, Hartley decides to migrate to Jamaica at the age of twenty-three. This at first seems sensible: in the early 1800s Jamaica was far and away the richest and most opulent of all the crown colonies, and the single greatest producer of sugar in the world. But for all its fabulous wealth, Jamaica was a difficult and inhospitable place for an immigrant. The mortality rate for new immigrants was over 50% for the first year of residence. Some immigrant groups fared even worse. The island's white population that ran the lucrative sugarcane industry was outnumbered 10-to-1 by the largely enslaved black population. Slave revolts were common with brutal reprisals such as the decapitation of ringleaders and nailing the severed heads to trees.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe complex saga of Hartley's life is revealed in vivid scenes that depict the vicissitudes of 19th-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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnthony C. Winkler\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1942 and is widely recognized as one of the island's finest and most hilarious exports. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Painted Canoe\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 1984 to critical acclaim. This was followed by \u003ci\u003eThe Lunatic\u003c\/i\u003e (1987; Akashic Books, 2007), which was turned into a feature film, then \u003ci\u003eThe Great Yacht Race\u003c\/i\u003e (1992), \u003ci\u003eGoing Home to Teach\u003c\/i\u003e (1995), \u003ci\u003eThe Duppy\u003c\/i\u003e (1997), \u003ci\u003eDog War\u003c\/i\u003e (2007), and \u003ci\u003eGod Carlos\u003c\/i\u003e (2012). He lives with his wife in Atlanta, Georgia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8.2 x 5.8 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 07, 2013\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51770641416480,"sku":"9781617751660","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/5ae41d6677b8be96e8d2e687b93123ee.webp?v=1780376081","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-family-mansion-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}