Product Description

Afua Cooper—writer, historian and poet—tells the astonishingstory of Marie-Joseph Angélique, a slave woman who was convicted of starting afire that destroyed a large part of Montréal in April 1734. On appeal, herpunishment of death by hanging was modified to an even crueller fate. No longerwould she first have her hands cut off; the precursor to the gallows would nowbe forced to undergo "le torture extraordinaire," a brutalleg-crushing, to encourage her to name an accomplice—a white man, Angélique’ssometime lover.

Cooper brings an unknown chapter in Canadian history brilliantlyto life with this narrative of a rebellious Portuguese-born Black woman whorefused to accept her indentured lot. In a dramatic retelling of Angélique’slife, Cooper sheds new light on what might have compelled a young woman tocommit such a crime. At the same time, she completely demolishes the myth of abenign, slave-free Canada, revealing a damning centuries-old record of legallyand culturally endorsed slavery.

Not simply a tale of "Black" history, or even ofCanadian history, The Hanging of Angélique is a universal storythat resonates with a strong and insistent voice.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #312177 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-05
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

About the Author
AFUA COOPER is an established writer of non-fiction, historyand poetry. She holds a PhD in African-Canadian history with specialties inslavery and abolition. She is the co-author of We’re Rooted Here and TheyCan’t Pull Us Up: Essays in African-Canadian Women’s History, whichwon the prestigious Joseph Brant Award for history. She is also one of Canada’smost versatile poets and has published four volumes of poetry, including theacclaimed Memories Have Tongue. She spent 15 years researching theintriguing history of Marie-Joseph AngÉlique. Afua Cooper teaches history atthe University of Toronto.