Slaves in the Family

London: Viking, 1998. A Fine unmarked copy with near Fine price clipped dustjacket. 504 pages. 110 illustrations and 2 maps. First UK edition. In 1698 when Elias Ball sailed into the harbour at Charleston, South Carolina, he was just 22 years old and had travelled 3,500 miles from his home in England, a journey of some 6 weeks, to claim his inheritance - part of a plantation and 25 slaves. Elias and his progeny built a slave dynasty that lasted for 167 years, buying more than a dozen plantations along the Cooper River near Charleston, and selling 'Carolina Gold' (rice). The family had assembled close to 4,000 slaves before 1865, when Union troops arrived from the North on the lawns of the Ball estates to force emancipation. The author, a direct descendant of Elias, has written a magnificent history using the copious plantation records of his family, supplemented by both black and white folklore and interviews with the descendants of the slaves themselves, uncovering the story of the people who lived and worked on his ancestors' lands - the violence and opulence, the slave uprisings and escapes, the dynastic struggles, and the mulatto children of Ball slaveholders and Ball slaves. **** NOT EX LIB **** **** A HEAVY VOLUME OF 1.04 KILO UNPACKED WEIGHT WHICH MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL SHIPPING COST **** A1E. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.