BLACK SPARTACUS, the epic life of Toussaint Louverture

427pp., b/w & colour illus., maps, paperback, Reprint, London, (2020) 2021

Winner of the 2021 Wolfson History Prize.

"An outstanding study of how the 'first black superhero of the modern age' led the world's only successful slave revolt ... This superb new history of Louverture and his legacy portrays Saint-Domingue as the most profitable slave colony the world had ever known ... with rare narrative verve, Hazareesingh conjures his subject's extraordinary life." Ian Thompson, Observer

"Black Spartacus is a tour de force: by far the most complete, authoritative and persuasive biography of Toussaint that we are likely to have for a long time ... an extraordinarily gripping read." David A Bell, Guardian

"A triumph. It takes a nearly impossibly complex history and weaves it into a compelling and accurate narrative that reads like fiction." Ben Horowitz, Financial Times

Sudhir Hazareesingh was born in Mauritius. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and has been a Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Balliol College, Oxford, since 1990. His books include The Legend of Napoleon (winner of the Prix du Mémorial d'Ajaccio and the Prix de la Fondation Napoléon), In the Shadow of the General (winner of a Prize d'Histoire du Sénat) and How the French Think (winner of the Grand Prix du Libre d'Idées). In 2020, he became a Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (G.C.S.K.), the highest honour of the Republic of Mauritius.