Toussaint Louverture:The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History

Illustrated by Sakina Karimjee and Nic Watts

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272 pages / October 2023 / 9781788737906

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PERHAPS THE GREATEST VICTORY OF THE OPPRESSED OVER THEIR OPPRESSORS IN ALL HISTORY

The end of slavery started in what was then San Domingo. In 1791, the enslaved people of the most prized French sugar plantation colony revolted against their masters. For over twelve years, against a backdrop of the French Revolution, they fought an epic black liberation struggle for control of the island. Theirs was the first and only successful slave revolution. It was the creation of Haiti as a nation, the first independent black republic outside of Africa, and an international inspiration to the persecuted and enslaved. This is the impassioned and beautifully drawn story of the Haitian Revolution and its incredible leader: Toussaint Louverture.

The text of this graphic novel is a play by C. L. R. James that opened in London in 1936 with Paul Robeson in the title role. For the first time, black actors appeared on the British stage in a work by a black playwright. The script had been lost for almost seventy years when a draft copy was discovered among James’s archives. Now this extraordinary drama has been reimagined by artists Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee.

Reviews

One of the year's top works of nonfiction.

Rob Salkowitz, Best Graphic Novels Of 2023, Forbes

A very intense treatment of the uprising in Haiti that paralleled and deeply involved the French Revolution.

Best Books of 2023, Comics Grinder

The adaptation is exciting, educational, and the perfect gift for the lefties in your life.

Hank Kennedy, The Best of 2023, The Comics Journal

Read all 17 reviews

The drawings are fantastic and the energy palpable on every page.
Joe Sacco, journalist and comic book artist, author of Palestine
A marvellous adaptation of one of the most important black history and slave history books ever written. C.L.R. James would be delighted.
Paul Buhle, authorized biographer of C. L. R. James and editor of more than twenty radical history graphic novels
An epic work of graphic history – a compelling, dramatic, detailed, delicate, and human rendition of this incredible tale of resistance
Kate Evans, author of Red Rosa: The Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg
The inspiring spirit of the men, women and children who made the Haitian Revolution has been beautifully and vividly brought to life as never before. This extraordinary work is a wonderful tribute to not only C. L. R. James but also to the greatest ever movement to demand Black Lives Matter.
Christian Høgsbjerg, co-author of Toussaint Louverture: A Black Jacobin in the Age of Revolutions
A historically important story, cinematic drawings, a powerful work.
Charles Johnson, author of Middle Passage
The basis for this graphic novel is C. L. R. James' 1934 play, adapted by Watts and Karimjee; readers who don't know what to expect from the graphic-novel adaptation of a play will be pleased with the result...An important piece of history that shouldn't be forgotten.
Booklist
Adapting C.L.R. James's 1934 play, Karimjee and Watts's evocative black-and-white drawings channel the rebellious spirit of the Haitian Revolution in its fight for Black liberation.
The New York Times Book Review
This fiery primer offers education and insights into Haiti's fight for independence.
Publishers Weekly
This is the impassioned and beautifully drawn story of the Haitian Revolution and its incredible leader: Toussaint Louverture
Comics Beat
Their illustrations do justice to the original work, beautifully rendered and depicting dynamic characters and exciting drama.
Keith Harris History
The comic book format, constantly zooming out to the big picture and in on the details, proves immensely suited to the complex parallels between personal and universal struggles around which James's play revolves.
Mark Rappolt, Art Review
This is quite a comic! A very intense treatment of the uprising in Haiti that paralleled and deeply involved the French Revolution and yet was treated for centuries as a mere sidebar to world events. Readers will need to think hard, even now, about the reasons why.
Paul Buhle, Comics Grinder
The caricaturing at work in Toussaint Louverture is impressive. Each character has a distinct, stylized, expressive face ... While the aim of this volume is educational, entertainment is not forgotten.
The Comics Journal
Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee's brilliant graphic novelisation of CLR James own stage adaptation of his book The Black Jacobins will both inspire and convince that, whatever the circumstances, change is possible.
Philosophy Football

The drawings are fantastic and the energy palpable on every page.
Joe Sacco, journalist and comic book artist, author of Palestine
A marvellous adaptation of one of the most important black history and slave history books ever written. C.L.R. James would be delighted.
Paul Buhle, authorized biographer of C. L. R. James and editor of more than twenty radical history graphic novels
An epic work of graphic history – a compelling, dramatic, detailed, delicate, and human rendition of this incredible tale of resistance
Kate Evans, author of Red Rosa: The Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg
The inspiring spirit of the men, women and children who made the Haitian Revolution has been beautifully and vividly brought to life as never before. This extraordinary work is a wonderful tribute to not only C. L. R. James but also to the greatest ever movement to demand Black Lives Matter.
Christian Høgsbjerg, co-author of Toussaint Louverture: A Black Jacobin in the Age of Revolutions
A historically important story, cinematic drawings, a powerful work.
Charles Johnson, author of Middle Passage
The basis for this graphic novel is C. L. R. James' 1934 play, adapted by Watts and Karimjee; readers who don't know what to expect from the graphic-novel adaptation of a play will be pleased with the result...An important piece of history that shouldn't be forgotten.
Booklist
Adapting C.L.R. James's 1934 play, Karimjee and Watts's evocative black-and-white drawings channel the rebellious spirit of the Haitian Revolution in its fight for Black liberation.
The New York Times Book Review
This fiery primer offers education and insights into Haiti's fight for independence.
Publishers Weekly
This is the impassioned and beautifully drawn story of the Haitian Revolution and its incredible leader: Toussaint Louverture
Comics Beat
Their illustrations do justice to the original work, beautifully rendered and depicting dynamic characters and exciting drama.
Keith Harris History
The comic book format, constantly zooming out to the big picture and in on the details, proves immensely suited to the complex parallels between personal and universal struggles around which James's play revolves.
Mark Rappolt, Art Review
This is quite a comic! A very intense treatment of the uprising in Haiti that paralleled and deeply involved the French Revolution and yet was treated for centuries as a mere sidebar to world events. Readers will need to think hard, even now, about the reasons why.
Paul Buhle, Comics Grinder
The caricaturing at work in Toussaint Louverture is impressive. Each character has a distinct, stylized, expressive face ... While the aim of this volume is educational, entertainment is not forgotten.
The Comics Journal
Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee's brilliant graphic novelisation of CLR James own stage adaptation of his book The Black Jacobins will both inspire and convince that, whatever the circumstances, change is possible.
Philosophy Football