Night of the silent drums [Hardcover]

Lonzo Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1987

ST. JOHN, VIRGIN ISLANDS (FORMERLY ST. JAN), 1733

Cornelius Bodger, physician to the Danish West India Company, watched as Jens Andersen, overseer of a nearby plantation, approached on horseback flourishing the long whip he always carried. Seven of Andersen's slaves had run away the night before, and as he drew near, coiling the whip, he reported their escape. Bodger nodded; Andersen turned and rode away.

It was customary for slaves on St. Jan to be docile. Most of them had been slaves in Africa, born and bred to slavery by their African masters. But now there were new slaves on St. Jan, slaves who were not slaves at all, but African royalty and nobility. Bolombo, Prince Aquashi, Breffu,.. . majestic figures who could not submit for long to a life of slavery.

Weeks passed and tensions mounted on St. Jan; and as more and more slaves escaped, one could hear more and more often the sounds of their drums, sending messages throughout the island in tongues meant only for African ears.

And then one night the drums fell silent. The time had come. Rebellion was at hand.

In telling the story first of the life on the island and then of the rebellion and its aftermath, the author paints striking portraits of the people involved-both black and white-and at the same time evokes an almost tangible sense of the land.

But the book is more than the story of what happened on this little island. It is the story of humanity in microcosm, a compelling picture of the evil, and the good, that men can do-and as such it is timeless.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 406 pages
• Publisher: Buckley-Little Book Catalogue Co (1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 091666712X
• ISBN-13: 978-0916667122
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,043,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To live and die in the V.I. Become a witness, not a reader., August 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Night of the Silent Drums (Paperback)

This book should be made of glass rather than paper. I read through this book and saw the lives, the greed, the desperation, and the joy of people long since dead. "Night of the Silent Drums" brings the history of the bloody 1733 St. Jan, Dansk Vestindia slave revolt to the present. The Virgin Islands' drought that year was the only thing dry about this book. And it succeeds without couching our preconceived notions of slavery or slaves, plantations or masters, by telling the truth as well as the facts. This work is gratefully and substantially more than ink on paper. When you pick up this one you will become more of a witness than a reader

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars St. John's slave rebellion, March 12, 2005

By 

Celeste M. Harmer (Clifton Heights, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night of the silent drums (Hardcover)

To look at and experience the island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, who would know that such a tranquil place has such a violent history? This is an account of the slave rebellion of 1733-1734, a true story told in fiction form through the eyes of Dr. Cornelius Bodger. Denmark had claimed the island in the early part of the 18th century and dedicated it to the cultivation of crops, most notably sugar. But in 1733, a new breed of slave was brought to work the fields: not a breed born into slavery in Africa, but abducted African royalty instead, a proud race that refused to submit to a life of bondage and toil.Thus is it was that a rebellion was fomented by these enslaved African royals and their followers with the intention that the island be converted into their form of government and run under such auspices. For six bloody months, rebels squared off against planters, and a good deal of the island's population perished.Oddly enough, the rebellion didn't end on a bombastic note; it was quietly and in stages put down, and with the deaths of the rebel leaders, the island slowly returned to normalcy.After having read this book, should you visit St. John, you'll probably find it hard to believe that this pretty little island was once hell in paradise.

3.0 out of 5 stars This Book is Too Long, February 22, 2012

By 

C. Scott (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night of the Silent Drums (Hardcover)

I am currently more than 200 pages into this book and we have not yet gotten to the St. John slave rebellion of 1733-1734. The book is writen from the perspective of a Danish physician who is humane toward slaves, and the book is going through his day-to-day life in 1733 St. John and St. Thomas islands that were then colonies of Denmark. I think this book is interesting if you want to think about the day-to-day activities of slaves and non-slaves in a society that primarily earns its money through the exploitation of slave labor. However, if you are looking for an exciting read that recounts the slave rebellion itself, then you have to wade through approximately 300 pages until you get to the action. The book is more than 400 pages long and I will update my review when I finish it.

I suppose that the author is slowly building up to the rebellion, but it is taking a very long time. This book needed a stronger editor who could have cut at least 100 pages and maybe as many as 200.