From a black slave baby, the chattel of a French
planter, Henry Christophe rose to defy the eagles of Napoleon, to defeat his emissary LeClerc, and finally to rule Haiti as crowned king from his palace of Sans 5°1.10. History tells the astonishing story of the part Henry Christophe played in delivering the natives of Haiti from the yoke of slavery, but Mr. John W. Vandercock, in , his delightfully produced book, Black Majesty (Harpers, 7s. 6d.), does more than this, he makes Henry Christophe live again in all his pride, courage, and vigour, so that it is not difficult to understand why he was remembered by the last of his people, not as Majesty, as" Henry, or as Christophe, but simply as rHomme. To-day the Citadel, a massive fortress built on a mountain peak three thousand feet above the sea, alone bears witness to his greatness. The story of this man can be read and re-read. It is told here so vividly and with such sympathetic insight that even those who are well acquainted with it will find fresh beauty in the life of this great man.
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