Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African

Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African provides an unequalled portrait of the everyday life of a Black family in eighteenth-century London. An introduction, notes, and appendixes provide information about Sancho, his family, and his principal correspondents, and a summary of the contemporary response.

''In short, I write just what I think.''After a successful career in the service of an aristocratic family, Charles Ignatius Sancho (c. 1729–1780) established a successful grocery business in Westminster and had eight children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Charming, playful, and thoughtful, Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African provides an unequalled portrait of the everyday life of a Black family in eighteenth-century London. The collection of 161 letters reveals Sancho as a "man of letters," a committed Christian, and a politically-engaged citizen—one of the first Black Britons to cast a vote in a general election. Published posthumously in 1782, the volume met with immediate success. His letters, admired for their distinctive epistolary style, were reproduced as model examples of how to write with feeling, wit, and sincerity. Sancho also developed important commentary on European discourses of race and slavery, topics to which the correspondence repeatedly returns. His writing—both the fact of its existence and its cultural sophistication— was important evidence for the abolition campaigns which emerged after his death.Newly edited from the first edition of the Letters, Nicole N. Aljoe, Markman Ellis, and Oliver Ayers provide new information about Sancho and his family in an introduction and detailed notes. Appendices present biographical notes on his principal correspondents and a summary of the contemporary response.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.