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A review by booksbythewindow
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph
informative
medium-paced
For full review: https://booksbythewindow.wordpress.com/2023/04/05/the-secret-diaries-of-charles-ignatius-sancho/
Summary: The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho follows the eponymous character from his birth to the moment of his life for which he is most well known: becoming the first Black man to vote in England. The narrative is written from the perspective of Sancho in his last years, explaining his diary entries to his son. He explains the circumstances of his birth, his childhood living with his three guardians, his struggles to find jobs as a young adult, and his developing relationship with his wife. Each chapter features interjections and explanations from Sancho’s older self, filling in context and the gaps from his younger writing.
Overall Thoughts: I found The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho to be an interesting and engaging introduction to Sancho’s life, although I struggled a little with the writing style and narrative structure.
Sancho is an engaging protagonist: though flawed in many ways, he is someone that the reader can’t help but root for, especially given his struggles throughout his life. With everything stacked against him and treated with horrific racism by those who should have cared for him, the reader rejoices with Sancho in his moments of triumph, big or small, as he makes a life for himself.
The element of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho that I did not enjoy was the narrative framing: I found the interjections from Sancho’s older self to be a little unnecessary and, in many cases, led to too much telling rather than showing.
Overall, however, this was a novel that I enjoyed and would recommend to others with an interest in British history. I think that this would be a good read for a young adult audience as well as an adult audience as Sancho is definitely not someone that I remember studying at school and he is an important historical figure. The Secret Diaries of Charlies Ignatius Sancho has definitely moved Sancho’s real-life letters up my to-read list and I will be trying to read them later this year.
Summary: The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho follows the eponymous character from his birth to the moment of his life for which he is most well known: becoming the first Black man to vote in England. The narrative is written from the perspective of Sancho in his last years, explaining his diary entries to his son. He explains the circumstances of his birth, his childhood living with his three guardians, his struggles to find jobs as a young adult, and his developing relationship with his wife. Each chapter features interjections and explanations from Sancho’s older self, filling in context and the gaps from his younger writing.
Overall Thoughts: I found The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho to be an interesting and engaging introduction to Sancho’s life, although I struggled a little with the writing style and narrative structure.
Sancho is an engaging protagonist: though flawed in many ways, he is someone that the reader can’t help but root for, especially given his struggles throughout his life. With everything stacked against him and treated with horrific racism by those who should have cared for him, the reader rejoices with Sancho in his moments of triumph, big or small, as he makes a life for himself.
The element of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho that I did not enjoy was the narrative framing: I found the interjections from Sancho’s older self to be a little unnecessary and, in many cases, led to too much telling rather than showing.
Overall, however, this was a novel that I enjoyed and would recommend to others with an interest in British history. I think that this would be a good read for a young adult audience as well as an adult audience as Sancho is definitely not someone that I remember studying at school and he is an important historical figure. The Secret Diaries of Charlies Ignatius Sancho has definitely moved Sancho’s real-life letters up my to-read list and I will be trying to read them later this year.