Belle - Paperback

by Paula Byrne (Author)

The sensational true tale that inspired the major motion picture Belle starring Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Emily Watson, Penelope Wilton, and Matthew Goode--a stunning story of the first mixed-race girl introduced to high society England and raised as a lady.

The illegitimate daughter of a captain in the Royal Navy and an enslaved African woman, Dido Belle was sent to live with her great-uncle, the Earl of Mansfield, one of the most powerful men of the time and a leading opponent of slavery. Growing up in his lavish estate, Dido was raised as a sister and companion to her white cousin, Elizabeth. When a joint portrait of the girls, commissioned by Mansfield, was unveiled, eighteenth-century England was shocked to see a black woman and white woman depicted as equals. Inspired by the painting, Belle vividly brings to life this extraordinary woman caught between two worlds, and illuminates the great civil rights question of her age: the fight to end slavery.

Belle includes 20 pages of black-and-white photos.

This meticulously researched biography uncovers the full story behind the painting:

• A Defiant True Story: Follow Dido Belle, the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a sea captain, as she navigates the complexities of Georgian high society.
• A Landmark Legal Battle: Explore the pivotal Somerset ruling and the infamous Zong massacre case, revealing the legal foundations for the end of slavery in Britain.
• Georgian London and the Slave Trade: Delve into the hidden world of 18th-century Black London and the brutal realities of the transatlantic slave trade that shaped an empire.
• The Portrait that Shocked an Era: Go behind the scenes of the revolutionary portrait that dared to depict a black woman and a white woman as equals, challenging the conventions of an age.
• Exclusive Archival Material: Featuring 20 pages of black-and-white photos and drawing on deep historical research, this is the definitive account of Dido Belle's life.

Back Jacket

The sensational tale of the first mixed-race girl introduced to high-society England and raised as a lady...

The illegitimate daughter of a captain in the Royal Navy and an enslaved African woman, Dido Belle was raised by her great-uncle, the Earl of Mansfield, one of the most powerful men of the time and a leading opponent of slavery. When the portrait he commissioned of his two wards, Dido and her white cousin, Elizabeth, was unveiled, eighteenth-century England was shocked to see a black woman and white woman depicted as equals. Inspired by the painting, Belle vividly brings to life this extraordinary woman caught between two worlds, and illuminates the great civil rights question of her age: the fight to end slavery.

The feature film Belle is produced by Damian Jones (The Iron Lady, The History Boys, Welcome to Sarajevo), written by Misan Sagay, and directed by Amma Asante, and stars the extraordinary Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Belle, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, Matthew Goode, and Emily Watson.