BOOK OF THE DAY

Captives and Companions by Justin Marozzi. Could you tell us what this one is about?

This is a history of slavery and the slave trade in the Islamic world. It goes back to the time of the Prophet and some of his more contentious teachings, which are still used to justify slavery today. It’s book-ended with reports of modern slavery in Mali.  It’s a great, epic, sweeping history that takes us through 1500 years.

The story is told with real panache. Marozzi will take us inside an Ottoman sultan’s harem. If you have many concubines, you also need to have many slaves to guard them, including eunuchs.

One of the reasons why we, the judges, all liked it was that it took a certain amount of courage to write it. It’s obviously a tricky subject. There are a lot of books about the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas, but there hasn’t been a huge amount of literature—certainly in the English-speaking world—about the slave trade in the Islamic world, which has been more enduring. As many people were enslaved over a longer period of time, so they are certainly comparable, but the size of the literature isn’t. He managed to write about it in a very candid way without being cheaply provocative or trying to score points.

I read the prologue, where he’s outside Bamako in Mali talking to somebody who’s enslaved. That was a shock, reading about slavery today.

It’s an incredibly resonant book. He also knows how to tell a story. So he will take contemporary accounts, which are often over the top and fanciful with made-up numbers, and give that story. Then, more soberly, he’ll read between the lines. It’s a hard job for him to do, and I think he’s achieved it.

One of the problems with history about slavery is that the enslaved people rarely have a voice, and he does a good job of trying to ensure they do.

He’s also very good at the nuance of it. Enslaved people could actually rise up the ranks, for example, at the Ottoman court, and have quite distinguished positions, despite being enslaved. It’s a fascinating picture, and he’s written it with real confidence.