Synopses & Reviews
In 1934 C. L. R. James, the widely known Trinidadian intellectual, writer, and political activist, wrote the play
Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History, which was presumed lost until the rediscovery of a draft copy in 2005. The play's production, performed in 1936 at London's Westminster Theatre with a cast including the American star Paul Robeson, marked the first time black professional actors starred on the British stage in a play written by a black playwright. This edition includes the program, photographs, and reviews from that production, a contextual introduction and editorial notes on the play by Christian Handoslash;gsbjerg, and selected essays and letters by James and others. In
Toussaint Louverture, James demonstrates the full tragedy and heroism of Louverture by showing how the Haitian revolutionary leader is caught in a dramatic conflict arising from the contradiction between the barbaric realities of New World slavery and the modern ideals of the Enlightenment. In his portrayal of the Haitian Revolution, James aspired to vindicate black accomplishments in the face of racism and to support the struggle for self-government in his native Caribbean.
Toussaint Louverture is an indispensable companion work to
The Black Jacobins (1938), James's classic account of Haiti's revolutionary struggle for liberation.
Review
andquot;The text of this nearly forgotten drama, succinctly introduced to todayand#39;s readers with a valuable set of accompanying essays, is an invaluable contribution to Pan-African studies and our understanding of and#39;the Black Platoand#39; as a remarkably talented playwright. C. L. R. James readers, and not only those of The Black Jacobins, will rejoice.andquot;
Review
andquot;Long legendary throughout the diaspora, the first version of C. L. R. Jamesand#39;s play about Toussaint Louverture finally emerges from the archives. This play is the production that united James with his friend Paul Robeson on the London stage. It was an extraordinary event at the timeandmdash;witness the contemporary reviews added to this publicationandmdash;and it is no less extraordinary today. In addition to reviews, this edition also reprints valuable early statements from James and Robeson. It is a singular, one might even say Olympian, volume with much to teach us all.andquot;
Review
andldquo;[T]horoughly researched and intelligently prepared. . . .Toussaint Louverture is easily one of the two or three most important publications of C.L.R. Jamesandrsquo;s work in decades andndash; and the best-edited, by a very large margin.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This present volume . . . contains the play itself among an array of fascinating accompanying texts. These include an enlightening introduction by Handoslash;gsbjerg, a series of notices and reviews of the performances, which featured the most renowned black actor of his generation, Paul Robeson, as the Haitian revolutionary leader, plus other writings by James, Robeson and George Padmore, which pitch the play within its vital contemporary context: all in all, a profoundly engaging, original and epochal document.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This script is from a bygone age; its value lies not only in its importance as a document of theater history but also as a crucial addition to the canon of works about the Caribbean. This work would be difficult to stage these days (it boasts an especially large cast), but it should not be ignored by groups that can marshal the resources. Historians of the Caribbean will find it essential.andrdquo;
Review
“Highly recommended.” Larry Schwartz - Library Journal (Starred Review)
Review
andldquo;Why should we pay attention to this long-lost and largely forgotten play? We should do so because it is among the first efforts of one of historyandrsquo;s great anti-colonial voices, wrestling with the distinctive aesthetic quandaries of form and performance, to show that freedom from imperialism is just a phrase if it does not entail direct democracy and universal rights. James was nothing if not ambitious.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;We all owe much to the expert salvage operation Christian Handoslash;gsbjerg has performed here. and#160;As long as the world wilts with oppression, is awash with crisis, and punctuated by resistance this play, its subject matter, and now this book, will have to be read, watched and pondered on over and over again.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;More than any other contemporary writer on James, Christian Handoslash;gsbjerg appreciates how provisional and incomplete our understanding of this intellectual agenda has actually been. . . . The publication of Jamesandrsquo;s foray into theatrical prose is not only a delightful literary event in its own right but provides a welcome opportunity to revisit the historical and intellectual context in which James produced his landmark work of comparative historical analysis, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint Louverture and the San Domingo Revolution (1938). andquot;
Review
andldquo;Highly recommended.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;[T]he many people interested in James, and the many admirers in particular of his The Black Jacobins, will welcome this first publication of his 1934 play. It includes Christian Hogsbjergandrsquo;s well researched introduction and annotations, and several other pieces related to the play which form the appendix to this volume.andrdquo;
Synopsis
A new critical edition of Toussaint Louverture, the play written by the Trinidadian intellectual and activist C. L. R. James in 1934, performed at London's Westminster Theatre in 1936, and then presumed lost until its rediscovery in 2005.
About the Author
C. L. R. James (1901andndash;89) was a Trinidadian historian, novelist, activist, and cultural and political critic. He wrote many books, including a seminal cultural study of cricket, Beyond a Boundary, which is also published by Duke University Press.
Christian Handoslash;gsbjerg is a historian who lectures at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Table of Contents
Foreword / Laurent Dubois vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction / Christian Hand#248;gsbjerg 1
Editorial Note / Christian Hand#248;gsbjerg 41
Author's Note (1936) / C. L. R. James 45
Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History
The Complete Playscript (1934) 47
Act II, Scene I, of Toussaint Louverture (1936) 135
The Production and Performance of Toussaint Louverture
Notices 155
The Programme (1936) 160
Reviews 164
Appendix
andquot;The Intelligence of the Negroandquot; / C. L. R. James 189
andquot;A Century of Freedomandquot; / C. L. R. James 199
andquot;Slavery Today: A Shocking Exposureandquot; / C. L. R. James 206
andquot;I Want Negro Cultureandquot; / Paul Robeson 212
andquot;'Civilising' the 'Blacks': Why Britain Needs to Maintain Her African Possessionsandquot; / C. L. R. James 214
Letter from George Padmore to Dr. Alain Locke 217
[andquot;The Maverick Clubandquot;] / C. L. R. James 218
andquot;A Unique Personalityandquot; / C. L. R. James 219
andquot;Paul Robesonandquot; / C. L. R. James 221