Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Island on Fire

  • The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire
  • By: Tom Zoellner
  • Narrated by: Mirron Willis
  • Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (40 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Island on Fire cover art

Island on Fire

By: Tom Zoellner
Narrated by: Mirron Willis
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

White Debt cover art
Condemned cover art
The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams cover art
Thomas Paine and the Clarion Call for American Independence cover art
Forget the Alamo cover art
The Internal Enemy cover art
Bound for Canaan cover art
Toussaint Louverture cover art
American Tempest cover art
A Disease in the Public Mind cover art
American Revolution for Dummies cover art
The Making of America: Volume 1 cover art
Blood on the River cover art
Unworthy Republic cover art
The Agitators cover art
The Immortal Irishman cover art

Summary

From a New York Times best-selling author, a gripping account of the slave rebellion that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

For five horrific weeks after Christmas in 1831, Jamaica was convulsed by an uprising of its enslaved people. What started as a peaceful labor strike quickly turned into a full-blown revolt, leaving hundreds of plantation houses in smoking ruins. By the time British troops had put down the rebels, more than a thousand Jamaicans lay dead from summary executions and extrajudicial murder.

While the rebels lost their military gamble, their sacrifice accelerated the larger struggle for freedom in the British Atlantic. The daring and suffering of the Jamaicans galvanized public opinion throughout the empire, triggering a decisive turn against slavery. For centuries bondage had fed Britain’s appetite for sugar. Within two years of the Christmas rebellion, slavery was formally abolished.

Island on Fire is a dramatic day-by-day account of this transformative uprising. A skillful storyteller, Tom Zoellner goes back to the primary sources to tell the intimate story of the men and women who rose up and tasted liberty for a few brief weeks. He provides the first full portrait of the rebellion’s enigmatic leader, Samuel Sharpe, and gives us a poignant glimpse of the struggles and dreams of the many Jamaicans who died for liberty.

©2020 Tom Zoellner (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Island on Fire

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

British history not told

As someone Born in England of Jamaican heritage whose grandparents ( including one great grandfather born in 1903 who I knew) came to Britain in the 50s and 60s I know that they and their children ( my mum and dad) and their grandchildren ( my siblings including cousins) know (knew) nothing of Jamaican history including Sam Sharp. This is British history not taught in schools in England or even during so called “black history month”. A must read for all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Focused and informative

This book was free with my audible subscription and I downloaded it whilst searching for books on Jamaican history.

I have a reasonable grounding in the history of the slave trade and the events that led to emancipation, having read books by David Olusoga, Stella Dadzie and Kris Manjapra. This book however looked in detail at the last few years (early 1830s) leading up to emancipation and the role of the Baptist War in Jamaica

I found it to be very informative. Not only about Jamaican history in the 1830s but also about the wider context in the world, including politics in Britain. There was still plenty of new information for me, whilst points that were generally well known were not laboured over.

I especially liked the last chapter where Zoellner looks at the other events which have been credited as being the driving force for emancipation in the British Caribbean. At no point did this book feel like it was trying to lead me towards a conclusion, it presents as a statement of the known history. It is careful to point out the potential bias of existing historical evidence.

The only downside I found (which may have been due to it being an audiobook) is that it felt like it jumped around in time towards the start. At some points I had to rewind a bit to confirm where we were in the timeline. This may have been less noticeable if reading a printed copy.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about emancipation in the British Caribbean and Jamaican history in the 1830s.

Although my copy was free, I wouldn't have felt it a wasted purchase if I had bought it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

well researched, well written, enlightening.

I knew little about the subject so this was thoroughly enlightening. the author has shone a light on so many interesting topics. of course such cruelty will always be hard to listen to but this is thoroughly enjoyable book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The telling of a fight for humanity.

Lays bare the brutality that had been put upon stolen and enslaved people before, during and after a reach for freedom in the early 1800's.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent informative book, superbly read.

This book is a must read, in fact, in my opinion, it should be part of our school curriculum. It gives a fascinating insight into British history of which many people in this country are totally unaware. Mirron's voice is wonderful and helps make the book a compelling "read".

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!