Gifts To Transport You Back In Time

From Elephant and Castle to Southwark, from London Bridge to Westminster, Black History Walks takes you to historic locations around the city of London and gives in-depth historical context for each place, illuminating the presence of Black history throughout Britain's capital city.

In this guide, you'll get:
- Comprehensive coverage of historical places in London that have a relationship with Africa;
-How the most touristic attractions are actually hidden gems from Africa;
- Connections to places with African roots in this British metropolis;
- Walking tour routes that can be self-walked or done in tandem with the official Black History Walks tour.

In an atmosphere of abolition and revolution, Queen Charlotte Sophia, Britain's most famous (possibly) mixed-race Princess comes alive in this reimagined story of her life where romance, adventure and politics collide.

From a German backwater to the capital city of the most prolific Empire in the world, we journey with Queen Charlotte as she tries to discover the truth of her family's secret heritage, guided by an amulet and wooden chest left to her upon her father's death. Armed with a birthmark and bearing a complexion that reveals her silenced lineage, Queen Charlotte charges through the royal court of London, seeking answers, making allies and guarding secrets.

With the weight of the amulet around her neck, Queen Charlotte learns what happens when love and legacy are at odds. On one side, is her secret true love Johann Christian Bach and the passionate life he offers, and on the other, her husband King George III and the impactful life her relationship with him provides.

A daughter. A lover. A fighter. A Queen. Tina Andrews's Queen Charlotte Sophia: A Royal Affair, offers a fantastic portrait of a woman, whose life continues to fascinate the world.

Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush, Stephen Bourne's War to Windrush explores the lives of Britain's immigrant community through the experiences of Black British women during the period spanning from the beginning of World War II to the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948.

In those short years, Black British women performed integral roles in keeping the country functioning and set the stage for the arrival of other black Britons on the MV Empire Windrush. The book shows first-hand what life was like in Britain for black women through photography and evocative prose.

War to Windrush retraces the history of those women who helped to build the great, multicultural Britain we know today. It is a celebration of multiculturalism and immigration, much needed in today's political climate.

"Simply miraculous... As her saga becomes ever more spellbinding, so does the reader's astonishment at the magic she creates. This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit over bigotry, intolerance and cruelty, and at the center of The Book of Harlan is the restorative force that is music." - Washington Post

Harlan and his best friend are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre, but after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, they are thrown into Buchenwald-the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany-irreparably changing the course of Harlan's life.

On a misty Monday-21st June 1948-the MV Empire Windrush sailed up the Thames and anchored at Tilbury Dock, London. There were a total of 1027 passengers on board with 802 passengers from British Colonies in the West Indies. Of these individuals, 539 were from Jamaica. The infamous images of the passengers walking down the gangplank the next morning would be the moment the Windrush Generation was born.

A Circle of Five reflects on the stories of the three hundred thousand or so making the same journey between 1948 and 1971 by showcasing the voices of five Jamaican women, Evelyn, Emma, Irene, Ivy, and Melissa. Each woman tells their own story, all beginning in early 1930's rural Jamaica and spanning some eighty years. Through these women, the experiences of the Windrush Generation come alive, honouring this vital period in British history.

Day-to-day struggles, triumphant success stories, and unique circumstances. A Quick Ting On: Black British Businesses takes you on an informative journey through the history (and future) of Black British entrepreneurship.

With the powerful rise of Black British culture, Black British entrepreneurship has rapidly become a point of great conversation. This book looks back on significant moments in Black British entrepreneurship, exploring the struggles, success and unique circumstances that face Black British businesses.

Featuring brilliant interviews and first-hand accounts from some of your favourite Black British entrepreneurs - from Sharmadean Reid MBE and Ozwald Boateng OBE, to the late great Jamal Edwards MBE, and so many more - Black British Businesses offers an important insight into how one of Britain's most influential communities continues to create space in the world of business.

A Book of Secrets is the story of a woman named Susan Charlewood living in Elizabethan England. Born in what is now Ghana, Susan is enslaved by the Portuguese but later rescued by British sailors, who bring her to England. Once in England, she is raised and educated in an English Catholic household.

When Susan comes of age, the family marry her off to an older Catholic man, John Charlewood. Charlewood runs a printing press and uses it to supply the Papist nobility with illegal Catholic texts and foment rebellion amongst the Catholic underclass. When Charlewood dies, Susan takes over the business and uses her new position to find out more about her origins.

A look at racial relationships on the eve of the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, A Book of Secrets is a revealing and compelling glimpse into a fraught time.

A Book of Secrets is the story of a woman named Susan Charlewood living in Elizabethan England. Born in what is now Ghana, Susan is enslaved by the Portuguese but later rescued by British sailors, who bring her to England. Once in England, she is raised and educated in an English Catholic household.

When Susan comes of age, the family marry her off to an older Catholic man, John Charlewood. Charlewood runs a printing press and uses it to supply the Papist nobility with illegal Catholic texts and foment rebellion amongst the Catholic underclass. When Charlewood dies, Susan takes over the business and uses her new position to find out more about her origins.

A look at racial relationships on the eve of the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, A Book of Secrets is a revealing and compelling glimpse into a fraught time.

Breaking the Maafa Chain chronicles two sisters' struggle for true freedom in the mid-nineteenth century, when transporting slaves from Africa to America was an illegal but lucrative business

Nineteenth century-Two sisters, Fatmata and Salimatu, are captured and sold separately into slavery. Forced to change their names to Faith and Sarah, they end up in two different countries with opposite slavery laws. Faith ends up in America, where slavery is still legal and slaves don't have any rights. Sarah ends up in a Victorian England and as the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. Can the two sisters reclaim their freedom and identity in a world that is trying to break them down and mold them to its coloniser's will?

Based on the true story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, Breaking the Maafa Chain will take the readers on a journey of loss, survival, hope, identity and tradition.

Paris,1958. An Algerian waiter at the famous restaurant La Tour d'Argent is convicted of the murder of two customers. As he is awaiting trial, his long-time friend Jerry Moloto helps an opportunistic and ambitious journalist build a case to defend him.
Through Jerry's testimony the reader discovers that the waiter is actually Pitso Motaung, a mixed race South African drafted to fight in the First World War. He is also one of the few remaining survivors of the SS Mendi tragedy, which saw the formidable warship sink off the coast of the Isle of Wight, killing 646 people, including many black South African soldiers. So how did a brave soldier become a criminal and will Pitso's name be cleared before it is too late?

Commemorating the 100th year anniversary of the sinking of the SS Mendi, Dancing the Death Drill is a timely novel about life and the many challenges it throws our way.

Alford Dalrymple Gardner is one of the few living passengers to have travelled on the Empire Windrush. Now published for the first time, this is his stirring life story.

On 22nd June 1948, the Empire Windrush sailed from Kingston, Jamaica, to harbour at Tilbury Docks. It carried 1,027 passengers and two stowaways, and more than two thirds of them were West Indies nationals. Alford Dalrymple Gardner was among them.

Alford's story traverses both the uplifting highs and intolerant lows that West Indian migrants of his generation encountered upon travelling to Britain to forge out a life. From joining the British military during World War II to being forcibly deported back to Jamaica once it was won-only to come back to the UK when the government decided it needed him again-Alford witnessed milestone events of the 20th century that shaped the country he still lives in today.

In the context of a supposedly 'post-Imperial' Britain where the lives of West Indian migrants hang precariously on the whims of the Home Office, Alford's heartening testimony is a celebration of those who endured hardships so that generations to come could call this place home.

Evelyn Dove embraced the worlds of jazz, musical theatre and, most importantly, cabaret, in a career spanning five decades from the 1920s through to the 1960s. A black British diva with movie star looks, she captivated audiences and admirers around the world, enjoying the same appeal as the 'Forces Sweetheart' Vera Lynn throughout the Second World War.

Refusing to be constrained by her race or middle-class West African and English backgrounds, she would perform for infamous Russian leader, Joseph Stalin; become a regular vocalist for the BBC and a celebrated performer across continental Europe, India and the US.

At the height of her fame in the 1930s, she worked with the pioneers of black British theatre, replacing Josephine Baker as the star attraction in a revue at the Casino de Paris and scandalizing her family by appearing on stage semi-nude.

This is a celebration of an extraordinary career punctuated with vertiginous highs and profound lows, and places Dove in historical context with artists of her time, such as Adelaide Hall, Dame Cleo Laine and Dame Shirley Bassey.

WINNER 2017 NAACP AWARD FOR FICTION

"Simply miraculous... As her saga becomes ever more spellbinding, so does the reader's astonishment at the magic she creates. This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit over bigotry, intolerance and cruelty, and at the center of The Book of Harlan is the restorative force that is music." -Washington Post

From the bestselling author of Richard and Judy 2021 Book Club pick Sugar, is a riveting and masterful work of delicious fiction navigating the Blues and the Jazz Age, and the experience of Black people under Nazi occupation.


After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move from Macon, Georgia to Harlem where Harlan becomes a professional musician. When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre, affectionately referred to as ""The Harlem of Paris"", Harlan jumps at the opportunity, convincing Lizard to join him.

But after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into Buchenwald, the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany, irreparably changing the course of Harlan's life.

Based on exhaustive research and told in McFadden's mesmeric prose, The Book of Harlan skillfully blends the stories of McFadden's familial ancestors with those of real and imagined characters to create a layered and complex navigation of the true history of Black people caught under Nazi occupation and in concentration camps.

"McFadden packs a powerful punch with tight prose and short chapters that bear witness to key events in early twentieth century history...McFadden presents a remarkably crisp portrait of one average man's extraordinary bravery in the face of pure evil." - Booklist

"There is so much beauty in the words that Bernice L. McFadden wrote to deliver this story that I am in awe of her writing. This is one read that will stay with me for a very long time, and I will never tire of recommending it to all" - La Chouett Blog