Ms. Kauffmann has done an excellent job of bringing to light an excellent, if obscure, story of Africans who worked, lived and loved in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Drake, and King James. Kauffmann has researched enough to discuss the lives of craftwomen, sailors, servants and other Africans who lived in various parts of England at that time, and discussed other Africans who existed in various English records but for whom we have no other knowledge. The author humanizes these people, and encourages us to sympathize with them, to understand their heartaches and their triumphs. An excellent read, made that much better by Miranda Kaufmann's excellent writing and the color images depicting Africans in the 14th and 15th centuries. Extremely interesting to anyone who enjoys Shakespeare and this period in history.
