Breaking the Maafa Chain

- Reviews -

Part fact, part fiction, Breaking the Maafa Chain is an important book, beautifully told. Domingo' s premise is a bold and uncompromising one - taking what is known, the story of Salimatu, the ' black princess' , Sarah Forbes Bonetta, and weaving through it the story of her fictionalised sister, Fatmata, Faith. Domingo makes an eloquent point: that although the sisters suffered different fates, both were unfree: Fatmata enslaved in North America and Salimatu gifted to Queen Victoria, and utterly at her whim. It is a story that has resonance today, where Meghan Markle was expected to shape herself to a white institution, to belong. * Guinevere Glasfurd * Part fact, part fiction, Breaking the Maafa Chain is an important book, beautifully told. Domingo' s premise is a bold and uncompromising one - taking what is known, the story of Salimatu, the ' black princess' , Sarah Forbes Bonetta, and weaving through it the story of her fictionalised sister, Fatmata, Faith. Domingo makes an eloquent point: that although the sisters suffered different fates, both were unfree: Fatmata enslaved in North America and Salimatu gifted to Queen Victoria, and utterly at her whim. It is a story that has resonance today, where Meghan Markle was expected to shape herself to a white institution, to belong. * Guinevere Glasfurd * The story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, extraordinary even in extraordinary times, known to some in Sierra Leone , though virtually unknown elsewhere. Now Anni Domingo has brought her vividly to life in this richly imagined and compellingly told tale. Breaking the Maafa Chain is a gift to readers everywhere. * Aminatta Forna * Anni Domingo' s Breaking the Maafa Chain is so rich in detail and dialogue, it is simply seductive. She captures so well, a little girl, Salimatu, who recalls the security of her family life, who is transported to a bewildering future in England to become Sarah, where she has to stand strong and survive. Not only will this book be read for the sheer enjoyment of a beautifully written novel, but for the learning gained. It is a historical novel that cannot be ignored. * Kadija Sesay, Literary Activist, author of Irki * Anni Domingo brings great sensitivity to her fictionalised account of the remarkable young life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the ' African Princess' , who became a god-daughter to Queen Victoria. The internal struggles of Salimatu (Sarah) are movingly explored as she struggles to remain true to her identity as an African after being taken from her homeland and brought to England as a gift from "the King of the Blacks to the Queen of the Whites. " A comparable story is told of Salimatu' s sister Fatmata (Faith) who is transported to the United States before emancipation. Carefully constructed with a keen eye for historical accuracy, Domingo reveals a compassionate and affectionate Queen Victoria who is devoted to her African god-daughter. This is also an epic story of two sisters who are separated towards the end of the transatlantic slave trade, but never forget each other. * Stephen Bourne, author of War to Windrush and Evelyn Dove *

- Author Bio -

Anni Domingo is an Actress, Director and Writer, working in Radio, TV, Films and Theatre after training at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. She appeared in Inua Ellam' s ' Three Sisters' , a play set in Nigeria during the Biafran War, at the National Theatre (UK) and toured Robert Icke' s ' The Doctor' to Australia early in 2020. She currently lectures Drama and Directing at St. Mary' s University in Twickenham, Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, Students and at RADA. Anni' s poems and short stories are published in various anthologies and her plays produced in the UK. An extract from her novel Breaking the Maafa Chain won the Myriad Editions First Novel competition in 2018 and is featured in the New Daughters of Africa (2019) anthology edited by Margaret Busby. Anni recently won a place at Hedgebrook Writers Retreat and Norwich National Writing Centre' s ' Escalator' programme enabling her to start working on Ominira, her second novel. Her first novel, Breaking the Maafa Chain, is scheduled to be published in 2021 by Jacaranda.

- Full Details -

Status:	No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13:	9781913090784
Published:	22 Sep 2022
Published In:	United Kingdom
Imprint:	Jacaranda Books Art Music
Publisher:	Jacaranda Books Art Music
Format:	Paperback
Height:	198mm
Width:	129mm
Pages:	472

- Delivery ETA -

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