by Linda Lee Graham | Life in the 18th Century, Voices Echo
The Jamaican Duppy African in origin, the word duppy has two meanings in Jamaican spirit lore. The first refers to a soul, which may manifest in either human form or animal form. The second meaning evolves from the first and references a supernatural race of...
by Linda Lee Graham | Life in the 18th Century, Slide, Voices Echo
Soldier of the Black Watch c.1740, colorized {{PD-US}} When Malcolm McPherson joined the Black Watch in 1735, he and his fellow enlistees “thought themselves destined to serve exclusively . . . in the Highlands.”1 They had no expectation they’d do duty in...
by Linda Lee Graham | Life in the 18th Century, Voices Echo
A perspective on the disturbing pseudoscience behind the colonial obsession with cataloging complexions and “refining” racial mixes in 18th century West Indies.
by Linda Lee Graham | Life in the 18th Century, Slide, Voices Echo
I did a double take when I saw this work hanging in a Montego Bay exhibit last year. Admittedly, my interest was more than casual. I was writing Voices Echo at the time and visiting Jamaica to flesh out my research. Many of the images in the collage echoed...
by Linda Lee Graham | Life in the 18th Century, Slide, Voices Echo
Sugarcoating the Unsavory Side of History Sugarcoat history? Of course we can, but should we? Not in my opinion. Still, it’s a fine line to straddle when writing romantic historical fiction—particularly a story that takes place in brutal 18th-century Jamaica. I...