The story of the extraordinary relationship between Francis Barber, a former slave, and Samuel Johnson, England’s most distinguished man of letters

“A remarkable work of detection, a biography of a black Briton from the eighteenth century that brings to life a rich and vital aspect of our shared history.”—David Olusoga

Born into slavery in Jamaica about 1742, Francis Barber was brought to London as a young boy, becoming a servant in the household of the renowned Dr. Samuel Johnson. He joined the British navy for a time but returned to Johnson’s service, eventually becoming his friend and heir. Barber was one of thousands of black Britons in the period. This is the story of his life, the hostility and support he encountered, and his extraordinary friendship with England’s most distinguished man of letters.
 

"“Elegant, precise, formidably informed. Bundock clears away a fog of falsehoods and rebalances the story.”—John Carey, Sunday Times" - The Sunday Times

"“Bundock weaves into the absorbing tale of Barber’s life a wealth of material relating to black people in England, especially in London, throughout the 18th century… He writes with clarity, sympathy and tact.”—Freya Johnston, Literary Review
 " - Literary Review

"“A supremely skilled biography … Barber’s extraordinary and varied career allows Bundock to explore what life felt like for a black man in Georgian England.”—Kathryn Hughes, Guardian" - Guardian

"“Bundock’s lively biography offers a fresh perspective on Johnson and locates Barber both in Johnson’s household and in the context of an empire beginning to debate the political and moral legitimacy of slavery.”—Publishers Weekly" - Publishers Weekly

"‘[Bundock] imaginatively recreates the textures of life in 18th-century England and shows an admirable determination to question received wisdom’—Henry Hitchings, the Guardian.
" - The Guardian