{"product_id":"books-belle-by-paula-byrne","title":"Belle","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe sensational true tale that inspired the major motion picture \u003ci\u003eBelle\u003c\/i\u003e 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.  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe 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, \u003ci\u003eBelle\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBelle\u003c\/i\u003e includes 20 pages of black-and-white photos.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis meticulously researched biography uncovers the full story behind the painting:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Defiant True Story:\u003c\/b\u003e Follow Dido Belle, the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a sea captain, as she navigates the complexities of Georgian high society.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Landmark Legal Battle:\u003c\/b\u003e Explore the pivotal Somerset ruling and the infamous Zong massacre case, revealing the legal foundations for the end of slavery in Britain.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGeorgian London and the Slave Trade:\u003c\/b\u003e Delve into the hidden world of 18th-century Black London and the brutal realities of the transatlantic slave trade that shaped an empire.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Portrait that Shocked an Era:\u003c\/b\u003e 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.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eExclusive Archival Material:\u003c\/b\u003e Featuring 20 pages of black-and-white photos and drawing on deep historical research, this is the definitive account of Dido Belle's life.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"World of Books ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53669464310033,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780062310774.jpg?v=1781508625","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/books-belle-by-paula-byrne","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}