There are many versions to Jamaica's legend of Lover's Leap. The most popular ones say two slaves were in love secretly and when their relationship was made public the consequences were deadly. According to another, the daughter of a plantation owner was in love with a slave and yet another says a plantation owner was in love with one of his slaves.
No matter the version, nothing can stop the intrigue and poignancy of this fascinating legend. Award-winning Jamaican author (Canadian based) Horane Smith's internationally-acclaimed novel Lover's Leap: Based on the Jamaican Legend (www.horanesmith.com) skillfully combines the most popular versions of the legend into one grand nail-biting experience that will have you turning the pages quicker than you think. Read it to prove it!
The story of Lover's Leap can never die. In fact, the novel proves that a legend has come alive!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Lover's Leap - the saga continues
In 1830's Jamaica, sugar was already king. England, the colonial master, was creating a great deal of wealth through her colonies, especially in the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean - Jamaica.
In order to maintain the profitability of sugar, the cane plantations had to be worked. Sugar cane called for intensive labour and the exploitive system known as slavery, was the engine used to provide that need. Along with the system of slavery came all the ills, abuse, and curtailment of freedoms. Slaves lived with the nightmare with the hope that one day soon this viscious system would end. This gave rise to the abolitionist movement both inside and outside of the Caribbean. Names like William Wilberforce, an Englishman, readily comes to mind. In Jamaica, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, and Sam Sharpe were the early freedom fighters.
As those men allowed their voices to be heard about the inhumane system, slaves had to contend with the rules and regulations. They were merely a piece of property. They could not own property because they themselves were property. They could have children, but the children didn't belong to them. Children became the property of their slavemasters, a part of their wealth because they could be sold to another for money. Slaves had financial value.
Slaves were not free to love another. Love was forbidden. If they fell in love, it was forbidden love. On the southcoat of Jamaica, in the parish of St. Elizabeth, at a village known then as Big Yard/Yardley Chase, two slaves fell in love - forbidden! How could this love survive the plantation system? Lover's Leap: Based on the Jamaican Legend by Horane Smith answers that question.
Stay tuned as the nail-biting saga continues.
In order to maintain the profitability of sugar, the cane plantations had to be worked. Sugar cane called for intensive labour and the exploitive system known as slavery, was the engine used to provide that need. Along with the system of slavery came all the ills, abuse, and curtailment of freedoms. Slaves lived with the nightmare with the hope that one day soon this viscious system would end. This gave rise to the abolitionist movement both inside and outside of the Caribbean. Names like William Wilberforce, an Englishman, readily comes to mind. In Jamaica, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, and Sam Sharpe were the early freedom fighters.
As those men allowed their voices to be heard about the inhumane system, slaves had to contend with the rules and regulations. They were merely a piece of property. They could not own property because they themselves were property. They could have children, but the children didn't belong to them. Children became the property of their slavemasters, a part of their wealth because they could be sold to another for money. Slaves had financial value.
Slaves were not free to love another. Love was forbidden. If they fell in love, it was forbidden love. On the southcoat of Jamaica, in the parish of St. Elizabeth, at a village known then as Big Yard/Yardley Chase, two slaves fell in love - forbidden! How could this love survive the plantation system? Lover's Leap: Based on the Jamaican Legend by Horane Smith answers that question.
Stay tuned as the nail-biting saga continues.
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