Journal of a West India Proprietor by Matthew Gregory Lewis - 9781108024853

Journal of a West India ProprietorKept During a Residence in the Island of Jamaica\nAuthor(s): Matthew Gregory Lewis\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781108024853, 978-1108024853\nSynopsis\nMatthew 'Monk' Lewis [tel] is best known as a writer of plays and 'Gothic' novels such as The Monk (from which he acquired his nickname). On the death of his father in 1812, he inherited a large fortune, including estates in Jamaica. He spent four months there in 1815, during which time much of this Journal of a West India Proprietor was written. He became interested in the condition of the slaves on his estates, and on returning to England made contact with William Wilberforce and other abolitionists. The improvements he made on his own estates were unpopular with other landholders, but foreshadowed the reforms of the 1830s, when the Journal was published. He revisited the island in 1817, but died of yellow f.