{"product_id":"the-maroons-paperback","title":"The Maroons - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLouis Timagène Houat\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eAqiil M. Gopee\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eJeffrey Diteman\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA rediscovered classic, and the only known novel by Black abolitionist and political exile Louis Timagène Houat, \u003cem\u003eThe Maroons\u003c\/em\u003e is a fervid account of slavery and escape on nineteenth-century Réunion Island.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrême is a young African man forced into slavery on Réunion, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Plagued by memories of his childhood sweetheart, a white woman named Marie, Frême seeks her out--but when they are persecuted for their love, the two flee into the forest. There they meet other \"maroons\" formerly enslaved people and courageous rebels who have chosen freedom at the risk of their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow available in English for the first time, \u003cem\u003eThe Maroons\u003c\/em\u003e highlights slavery's abject conditions under the French empire, and attests to the widespread phenomenon of enslaved people escaping captivity to forge a new life beyond the reach of so-called \"civilization.\" Banned by colonial authorities at the time of its publication in 1844, the book fell into obscurity for over a century before its rediscovery in the 1970s. Since its first reissue, the novel has been recognized for its extraordinary historical significance and literary quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresented here in a sensitive translation by Aqiil Gopee with Jeffrey Diteman, and with a keen introduction by journalist and author Shenaz Patel, \u003cem\u003eThe Maroons\u003c\/em\u003e is a vital resource for rethinking the nineteenth-century canon, and a fascinating read on the struggle for freedom and social justice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLouis Timagène Houat\u003c\/strong\u003e was a French writer and physician. Originally from Bourbon Island, now known as La Réunion, he was the author of the first novel in Réunionese literature, \u003cem\u003eLes Marrons\u003c\/em\u003e, which he published in Paris in 1844.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAqiil Gopee\u003c\/strong\u003e is a Mauritian writer and poet with degrees in Religion from Amherst College and Harvard, where he also trained in archaeology. He has published numerous short stories and poems in Mauritius, France and the U.S., having won the 1st prize of prestigious Prix du Jeune Écrivain in 2023 for his short-story \"Insectarium,\" published by Buchet-Chastel (Paris). He reads classical Arabic, Attic Greek, Akkadian and Egyptian, and along with a first novel, he is currently working on a literary translation of the Qur'ān.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeffrey Diteman\u003c\/strong\u003e is a literary scholar and translator working in French, Spanish, and English. He has translated the writing of Pablo Martín Sánchez, Raymond Queneau, and Amalialú Posso Figueroa, and regularly translates journalism and children's literature. His academic research focuses on depictions of cross-cultural influence in narratives of extended kinship from Latin America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShenaz Patel\u003c\/strong\u003e is a journalist and writer from the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. As a journalist, she has been a Reuter fellow and worked as editor in chief of a political newspaper before setting up the arts, culture and society section of \u003cem\u003eWeek End\u003c\/em\u003e, a leading Mauritian weekly newspaper.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePatel is the author of four novels, including \u003cem\u003eLe silence des Chagos\u003c\/em\u003e published in France by Editions de l'Olivier-Le Seuil and in English by Restless Books as \u003cem\u003eThe Silence of the Chagos\u003c\/em\u003e (2019). She has written numerous short stories in French and Mauritian Creole as well as five graphic novels, two plays, and translations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePatel was an International Writers Program (IWP) Honorary Fellow in the U.S. in 2016, a fellow at the Hutchins Centre-W.E.B du Bois Institute at Harvard University for the Spring semester 2018, and acted as mentor for the Young Women Writers Mentorship Programme of the IWP in 2019.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePatel staged a production of \u003cem\u003eNiamain\u003c\/em\u003e in 2019 (the story of an African princess enslaved in the 18th century). She is currently working on a novel based on the stories of women who have fought for freedom at different levels. She is also working on a documentary film related to the quest of identity through DNA testing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLisa Ducasse\u003c\/strong\u003e is a spoken word artist, singer, and translator from Mauritius, now living in Paris. She released her first poetry collection, \u003cem\u003eMidnight Sunburn\u003c\/em\u003e, in April 2017, and her first EP, \u003cem\u003eLouvoie\u003c\/em\u003e, in September 2018. She writes in French and in English, her two native languages, and her work mostly stems from and builds around the sometimes lived, sometimes imagined life of a traveler and the various homes one finds through encounters, moments, and in places all around the world. She specializes in translation for the screen and the translation of contemporary poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 176\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 7 x 4.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 20, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51759186968864,"sku":"9781632063557","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/4ca0797ace38e15637f29224e9e25769.webp?v=1780144766","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-maroons-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}