Gustavus Vassa (alias Olaudah Equiano, the African) was on the vanguard of the anti-slavery movement in England at the end of the eighteenth century. He provided a voice for people of African descent in the British Atlantic world. His Interesting Narrative has influenced countless works, both fiction and nonfiction.
“This is an impressive book which makes an important contribution to advancing scholarly understanding of the life, identity and influence of Gustavus Vassa. By drawing together such a rich and varied corpus of source material dispersed in archives in Britain and America, Sapoznik offers new insights into Vassa’s ideas, his networks of influence, as well as his many talents and accomplishments. This book is indispensable.”
— Suzanne Schwarz, University of Worcester, author of Slave Captain: The Career of James Irving in the Liverpool Slave Trade
“ … highlights the major contribution of an African to the body of knowledge of crimes against Africans in bondage [and] the immorality of human traffickers.”
— Arthur Torrington, Equiano Society