"The brutalities of Jamaica's past and the myriad social and cultural contradictions that contributed to it are conveyed with a genuine fondness for this complicated and conflicted place. A surprising, and surprisingly sophisticated, approach to historical fiction." --_PUBLISHERS WEEKLY_ Jamaica-born Winkler opens a door into a cultural period beset by an inhumane system that poisons relationships between whites and blacks.” --_KIRKUS REVIEWS_ [A] powerful and deeply moving tour de force. . . .Winkler submits imperialist dogma and the English aristocracy’s casual acceptance of violence and cruelty to punishing satirical critique. He takes special pleasure in redefining the idea of the English gentleman,’ embodied by his clueless and spoiled protagonist, Hartley Fudges, a terrifically rendered young English aristocrat who gets himself banished to Jamaica after attempting to kill his brother for his inheritance. VERDICT Essential reading for fans of literary fiction.” --_LIBRARY JOURNAL_ "Winkler has a fine ear for patois and dialogue, and a love of language that makes bawdy jokes crackle." --_NEW YORKER_ "A riveting social commentary on British nobility forced onto an undeveloped island, this isn't Robert Crawley meets Bob Marley circa 1800s--although one could imagine _Downton Abbey_'s Maggie Smith uttering a few of the biting and sarcastic lines throughout this humorous page-turner." --_ATLANTAN MAGAZINE_ "Jamaican-born novelist Anthony Winkler’s forthcoming novel, _Family Mansion_, conjures up the cruelties of slavery with the author’s trademark irreverence and wit . . . The first two novels of Winkler’s captivating trilogy are rife with hypnotic imagery and fascinating historical asides. They evoke the colonial world with erudition, irony, and complexity, and should be read by anyone interested in the broader implications of empire." --_BROOKLYN RAIL_ "_The Family Mansion_ is written with the comic sensibility of Wodehouse and the insightful social comment of Orwell." --_MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW_ "In _The Family Mansion_, Anthony C. Winkler continues his exploration begun in _God Carlos_ of Europe's colonization of Jamaica; whereas the latter focused on the brutality of the sixteenth-century Spanish invaders, this new (and surprisingly adventurous) novel sets its sights on the ravages of the more 'dignified' British conquistadors. Bringing history to life via the quixotic character of Hartley Fudges is an impressive enough feat, but it is Winkler's uncanny ability to add uproarious humor to this shameful history that sets _The Family Mansion_ apart from the standard fare of historical fiction." --COLIN CHANNER, author of _The Girl with the Golden Shoes_ _The Family Mansion_ tells the story of Hartley Fudges, whose personal destiny unfolds against the backdrop of nineteenth-century British culture, a time when English society was based upon the strictest subordination and stratification of the classes. Hartley's decision to migrate to Jamaica at the age of twenty-three seems sensible at first: in the early 1800s Jamaica was far and away the richest and most opulent of all the crown colonies. But for all its fabulous wealth, Jamaica was a difficult and inhospitable place for an immigrant. The complex saga of Hartley's life is revealed in vivid scenes that depict the vicissitudes of ninteenth-century English and Jamaican societies. Aside from violent slave revolts, newcomers had to survive the nemesis of the white man in the tropics—namely, yellow fever. With Hartley's point of view as its primary focus, the narrative transports readers to exotic lands, simultaneously exploring the brutality of England's slavery-based colonization. ANTHONY C. WINKLER was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1942 and is widely recognized as one of the island's finest exports. His novels include _The Lunatic_ (1987; adapted into a feature film), _The Duppy _(1997), _Dog War _(2007), and _God Carlos _(2012). He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.