Andrea Stuart (born 1962)"Andrea Stuart"
Goodreads. is a Barbadian-British historian and writer, who was raised in the Caribbean and the UKAndrea Stuart page
, Portobello Books. and now lives in the UK. Her biography of

Josephine Bonaparte Josephine may refer to: People *Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places * Josephine, Texas, United States * Josephine County, Oregon, a county located in the ...

, entitled ''The Rose of Martinique'', won the Enid McLeod Literary Prize in 2004."Andrea Stuart"
The Spaces between Words; Conversations With Writers. Although her three published books so far have been non-fiction, she has spoken of working on a novel set in the 18th century.

Early years

Born in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, of Barbadian parents, Andrea Stuart spent many of her early years there, where her father was Dean of the medical school at the

University College of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in the ...

. She moved to England with her family when she was 14, in 1976. She studied English at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

and French at the Sorbonne. She began working as a journalist, then branched into publishing and television documentary production.

Writing

Stuart's first book was ''Showgirls'' (London:

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

, 1996), a collective biography of

showgirl A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...

s through history to the present day, from

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a Mime artist, mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaki ...

, to

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

, to

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

, to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

. It was adapted into a two-part documentary for the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

in 1998, and since then has inspired a stage show, a dance piece and a number of burlesque performances. In 2003, Stuart's second book, ''The Rose of Martinique: A Biography of Napoleon's Josephine'', was published. Described by ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' as "unfailingly interesting", and by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' as "a comprehensive and truly empathetic biography", it won the Enid McLeod Literary Prize in 2004 and has been translated into several languages. Stuart's most recent book, ''Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire'', was published by Portobello Books in 2012, to much acclaim. It tells the story of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean from the perspective of what Stuart learned about her own family's experience through seven generations from the 17th century. Amy Wilentz wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'': "In this multigenerational, minutely researched history, Stuart teases out these connections. She sets out to understand her family’s genealogy, hoping to explain the mysteries that often surround Caribbean family histories and to elucidate more important cultural and historic themes and events: the psychological aftereffects of slavery and the long relationship between sugar — 'white gold' — and forced labor.... Much of the fiery magic of this book arises from Stuart’s ability to knit together her imaginative speculations with family research, secondary sources and the work of historians of the region, including

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989), Fraser, C. Gerald (2 June 1989)"C. L. R. James, Historian, Critic And Pan-Africanist, Is Dead at 88" ''The New York Times''. . who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson ...

and

Adam Hochschild Adam Hochschild ( ; born October 5, 1942) is an American author, journalist, historian and lecturer. His best-known works include ''King Leopold's Ghost'' (1998), ''To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918'' (2011), '' Bur ...

....There is not a single boring page in this book." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' referred to Stuart "Brilliantly weaving together threads of family history, political history, social history, and agricultural history into a vivid quilt covering the evolution of sugar—"white gold"—and slavery and sugar's impact on the development of Barbados as well as on her own family."

Valerie Grove Valerie Grove (née Smith, born 11 May 1946) is a British journalist and author, who worked for many years as a feature writer, interviewer and columnist for ''The Times'' newspaper. Grove was born in South Shields. Her father, William Douglas ...

in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' said: "A riveting story of family, slavery and the sugar trade… tuart belongsin the canon of fine post-colonial writers." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''′s reviewer described the book as "a diligently researched hybrid of family memoir and history ... absorbing".

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' referred to it as "a magisterial work of history". Stuart's work has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines, and anthologies (including 2019's ''

New Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

'', edited by Margaret Busby), and she has been co-editor of ''Black Film Bulletin'' and fiction editor of ''

Critical Quarterly ''Critical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the humanities published by Wiley. The editor-in-chief is Colin MacCabe. The journal notably published the Black Papers on education starting in 1969. History Early years ''Critical Q ...

''."Andrea Stuart"
No Dead White Men, Kingston University, 26 November 2012.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Stuart won the Enid McLeod Literary Prize from the Franco-British Society for ''The Rose of Martinique: A Biography of Napoleon's Josephine''. ''Sugar in the Blood'' was shortlisted for the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize in the non-fiction category and for the Spear's Book Award, and was ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

''′s non-fiction book of 2013. In June 2014, Stuart was named by ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' magazine as one of "six Caribbean writers you should take some time to discover" (alongside

Mervyn Morris Mervyn Eustace Morris OM (born 21 February 1937) is a poet, writer, editor and professor emeritus at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. His poetry is well respected throughout the Caribbean, which has consistently ranked him amon ...

, Beverley East, Ann-Margaret Lim, Roland Watson-Grant, and Tiphanie Yanique, who were attending the Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica).

Teaching and lecturing

Stuart has taught at

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

, as a Writer-in-Residence since 2011, and on the Biography course at the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Cumper is ...

. She was also a writing tutor with the Faber Academy, directing the "Writing Family History" course, and has been associate lecturer in cultural studies at the

University of the Arts London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

, visiting lecturer in creative writing at

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

, and in cultural studies at

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

Publications

Books

* ''Showgirls''. London: Jonathan Cape, 1996 () * ''The Rose of Martinique: A Biography of Napoleon's Josephine''. Macmillan (1st edition), 2003 (). Reprint Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005 () * ''Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire''. London: Portobello Books, 2012. USA: Knopf Publishing Group, 2013.

Selected articles

* "The Pirate's Daughter, by Margaret Cezair-Thompson", ''The Independent'', 23 November 2007. * "Strange Music, by Laura Fish – The poet, the plantation and history's lost lines", ''The Independent'', 8 August 2008. * "A Mercy, By Toni Morrison", ''The Independent'', 7 November 2008. * "The Dead Yard, By Ian Thomson; From Harvey River, By Lorna Goodison", ''The Independent'', 22 May 2009. * "Sugar: a bittersweet history, by Elizabeth Abbott", ''The Independent'', 1 January 2010. * "The Long Song, By Andrea Levy", ''The Independent'', 5 February 2010. * "The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire and War, By Matthew Parker", ''The Independent'', 6 May 2011. * "Book of a Lifetime: Collected Poems, by Derek Walcott", ''The Independent'', 30 June 2012.
"Britain Needs to Confront its Past"
, ''The Big Issue'', 18 July 2012. * "A bitter-sweet heritage", ''The Guardian'', 1 September 2012. * "Book review: Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation, By Judith Mackrell", ''The Independent'', 26 July 2013. * "Black History Month can only be declared a success once it's redundant", ''The Guardian'', 31 October 2013. * "Belle shows that at last, cinema is catching up with black history", Comment is free, ''The Guardian'', 12 June 2014. * "Britain's wealth was built on black backs. Windrush is a scandal of forgetting", ''The Guardian'', 22 May 2018.Andrea Stuart
"Britain’s wealth was built on black backs. Windrush is a scandal of forgetting"
''The Guardian'', 22 May 2018.

References

External links

"Sugar In The Blood: Andrea Stuart's Barbadian Legacy"
Public Radio International, 6 June 2012. Audio interview from ''The World''.
"A Barbados Family Tree With 'Sugar In The Blood
NPR, 4 February 2013. Audio interview on ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

''.
"Interview with Andrea Stuart"
Black Book News, 29 September 2012. * Rosebery Goring
"Andrea Stuart doesn't sugar the pill about slavery's role"
''The Herald'' (Scotland), 13 April 2013. * Eric Herschthal

''The Daily Beast'', 23 January 2013.
Jane Garvey talks to Andrea Stuart about the impact of discovering she was descended from both a slave owner and a slave
BBC, ''Woman's Hour'', 11 June 2012.
"Evening with Barbadian Andrea Stuart the author of Sugar in the Blood"
YouTube. 9 November 2013.
"Podcast 52: Interview with Andrea Stuart"
, Friday, 14 February 2014. Interviewer: Karen Sanderson-Cole.

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

at St. Augustine,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. * Celeste Headlee
"A Family Tree That Includes Slaves — And Slave Owners"
(interview), NPR, 15 August 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Andrea 1962 births Living people 20th-century Barbadian women writers 20th-century British biographers 20th-century British women writers 21st-century Barbadian women writers 21st-century Barbadian writers 21st-century British biographers 21st-century British women writers 21st-century historians Alumni of the University of East Anglia Barbadian historians Barbadian women journalists Black British women writers Black British writers British people of Barbadian descent British women biographers British women journalists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Historians of slavery Place of birth missing (living people)

Early years

Writing

Awards and recognition

Teaching and lecturing

Publications

Books

Selected articles

See also

References

External links