'In its exploration of geographical, racial and cultural dislocation, Sugar and Slate is in the finest tradition of work to have emerged from the black diaspora in recent times' Gary Younge, GuardianA powerful, radiant memoir from writer Charlotte Williams exploring the intertwined history of Wales, Africa and the CaribbeanThe daughter of a white Welsh-speaking mother and a Black father from Guyana, Charlotte Williams' childhood world was one of mixed messages, dominated by the feeling that 'somehow to be half Welsh and half Afro-Caribbean was always to be half of something but never quite anything whole at all'. Sugar and Slate tells the fascinating story of her journey of self-discovery, toing and froing between the small north Wales town where she grew up, Africa and the Caribbean. Blending memoir with historical research, Sugar and Slate delves deep into Black Welsh history, revealing the nation as home to one of the first interracial marriages in Britain in 1768, and a site of Britain's first major race riots in 1919. Powerful, lyrical and intimate, Williams' experience casts light on Wales and Welshness, illuminating what it is to be racially marginalized within a community, which is itself marginalized within Britain, and offering a unique insight into the complex Black history of Wales. A title in the Black Britain: Writing Back series - selected by Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, this series rediscovers and celebrates pioneering books depicting black Britain that remap the nation.

Sugar and Slate

Jessica Mayhew has a new client at her psychotherapy practice. Artist Pandora Powell is in shock following the death of her mother, Ursula, who was murdered during the theft of a valuable painting at her studio. And Jess has problems of her own, as she struggles to adjust to the demands of being a single parent. Pandora is a beautiful but shy and vulnerable young woman who has grown up in the shadow of her famous ancestors, the Welsh painters Augustus and Gwen John, and under the wing of her twin sister, Isobel. There is a suggestion that Isobel's husband, art dealer Blake Thomas, might be responsible for Ursula's murder. Blake is riding high with the success of his latest protégé, reclusive ex-miner and would-be revolutionary Hefin Morris, who is fast becoming the enfant terrible of the contemporary art world. When Blake too dies in mysterious circumstances, Jessica is drawn into a quest that not only leads her into mortal danger but also threatens to destroy her entire moral code as a therapist. Black Valley tells the story of how Jessica and Pandora, as therapist and client, slip between their different roles, becoming caught in a net from which neither can escape - except through treachery and betrayal.

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