{"product_id":"9780007589722_belle-the-true-story-of-dido-belle","title":"Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe inspiration behind the powerful new film starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson, this is the story of Dido Belle, whose adoption by an aristocratic family challenged the conventions of 18th century England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn one of the most famous portraits in the world, a pretty girl walks through the grounds of Kenwood House, a vision of aristocratic refinement. But the eye is drawn to the beautiful woman on her right. Pointing at her own cheek, she playfully acknowledges her remarkable position in eighteenth-century society. For Dido Belle was the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy captain and a slave woman, adopted by the Earl of Mansfield. As Lord Chief Justice of England he would preside over the notorious Zong case – the drowning of 142 slaves by an unscrupulous shipping company. His ruling provided the legal underpinning to the abolition of slavery in Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the privileged yet unequal lives of Dido and her cousin Elizabeth, to the horrific treatment of African slaves, Paula Byrne – the bestselling author of ‘The Real Jane Austen’ – vividly narrates the story of a family that defied convention, the legal trial that exposed the cruelties of slavery and the woman who challenged notions of race at the highest rank.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Paula Byrne","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47284749664405,"sku":"9780007589722","price":8.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780007589722.jpg?v=1776992308","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780007589722_belle-the-true-story-of-dido-belle","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}