The Maroons

This illuminating novel from Houat (1809–1883), which was banned by French colonial authorities upon its 1844 publication for its negative portrayal of slavery, marks his English-language debut. As a child, Frême is captured by slave traders in Africa, sold to the Portuguese, and settles with a family on the island of Réunion, off the coast of Mozambique, where he’s viewed by his enslavers as the “children’s favorite toy.” As a young man, he falls in love with Marie, his master’s white daughter, and they flee to the mountains, where they take to living in a cave. A parallel narrative follows a group of “maroons” (a term derived from the Spanish word cimarron, meaning “dwellers of the peaks”) who escape from slavery on a nearby sugar plantation. One of them falls from a cliff but survives, and joins up with Frême and Marie in their cave. The picaresque narrative feels somewhat rudimentary, but it’s enriched by the lively and substantial supplemental material, particularly Mauritian author Shenaz Patel’s introduction, which contextualizes the novel with an account of Houat’s lifelong persecution for his abolitionist views. The episodic narrative stands first and foremost as an important historical document. (Feb.)