A bravura act of ‘critical fabulation’ by Paterson Joseph, “The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho” was well-reviewed when it was first published in 2022, but I don’t think it got the coverage it deserved. Joseph has used existing historical records as a foundation for a full-blown Dickensian ‘autobiography’ of Charles Ignatius Sancho, a real person who lived from 1729-1780, known in his time as the ‘extraordinary negro’.

I’ve heard literary agents refer to at least four different sub-genres of historical fiction lately – ‘commercial’ (bodice-rippers, mysteries, military, series), ‘upmarket/book club’ and ‘literary’ (which, I think, are just what they sound like), and ‘biographical’ (which, I believe, means fact-based and well-researched). “The Secret Diaries” is ‘biographical historical fiction’, but I’d imagine that it would have as much to offer many book clubs as any non-fiction biography.

The research behind this book is evident and Joseph developed the strong narrative voice in a one-person stage show, that he wrote and performed for several years. I was particularly impressed by the way he uses ‘fiction’ to illuminate historical reality in a way that transcends traditional ‘history’. ‘Non-fiction’ binds you to existing documented ‘facts’, but those facts, which happened to be documented, and survived, don’t necessarily tell a clear story, much less an accurate or un-biased one. The ‘known facts’ are often debatable and always leave gaps big enough to drive a novel through. That’s where ‘critical fabulations’ like “The Secret Diaries” come in. 

Joseph based his story on “Letters of the late Ignatius Sancho, an African. To which are prefixed, memoirs of his life” (published in London, 1784), changing a few details and taking poetic license with others, to excellent effect. Joseph’s descriptions of 18th Century London are positively Hogarthian; in addition the protagonist, and his beloved, Joseph depicts several other well-known historical figures including Hogarth himself, the composer Handel, the famous actor David Merrick, and man of letters Dr. Samuel Johnson.

You’ll like this, if you liked: “The Good Lord Bird”, “Little Big Man”

The image is the cover of the British edition.