A friend of Laurence Sterne and David Garrick, Charles Ignatius Sancho was born on a slave ship in the Atlantic around 1729. Largely self-taught, he became a butler and then a valet in the household of the distinguished Montagu family, before setting up his own shop in Westminster.

His entertaining letters, first published in 1782, astonished readers with their wit and insight.

Enjoy this stand-alone biography of this fascinating figure from Black British history.

Written by Simon Webb