Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

Friendship Estate by Lynda R. Edwards is an almost utopian look at colonization and a reconciliation between the abhorrence of the slave trade and the reality that it seemed economically essential to the European powers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Set in the beautiful, racially divided island of Jamaica, the reader is introduced to two young brothers, one white and one black, who will change the world through their actions and lives. Brixton and Dexter were the children of the drunken, ostracized, and exiled Lord Harrington Dunbarton, the 6th Duke of Ergill. Brixton was the product of the Duke’s wife whereas Dexter was the son of the Duke’s wife’s maid whom Harry regularly raped, along with any other nubile slaves he took a fancy to. Harry’s wife, Margaret McKenzie, was the daughter of the Chief of one of Scotland’s most powerful clans, Clan McKenzie. When Dexter’s mother died giving birth to him, on the same day as Margaret gave birth to Brixton, she swore she would raise both boys as her sons and as brothers regardless of her husband’s despised behaviors and desires. Both boys would grow as close and loving as any brothers could and their actions in the future would see both of them play a major part in Britain renouncing slavery and the future development of Jamaica as a free, peaceful, and multi-racial society.

Friendship Estate is a deeply moving story and despite its almost utopian undertones serves to remind us that humanity, at its very best, can achieve immense strides in promoting justice, equality, and basic freedom to all individuals. Author Lynda R. Edwards beautifully expounds the fallacies that set the European nations on this quest to dominate and colonize the entire world as well as their erroneous justifications for enslaving millions of people who already had their own cultures, social structures, and working civilizations. This, however, is not just a book about equality and freedom; it is ultimately a series of love stories, and the romance between Brixton and Sabine, which initially was tinged with hatred and loathing is the centerpiece of the story. Sabine, a beautiful, young neighbor whose mother was a former slave, was convinced that men like Brixton Dunbarton were the source of all the difficulties she and her mother would face in retaining their vast Jamaican estate upon the death of her English father. As a woman and, worse, as a black woman, she would have no rights under British law. Their romance is only one of many wonderful love stories that the author seamlessly weaves into this uplifting story that reminds us of the inherent human dignity and kindness that does exist. The writing style allows the reader to view the story from several perspectives which adds a layer of depth, giving it even more impact. I particularly appreciated Brixton’s feelings of detachment and his understanding of the slave’s predicament as an Englishman born and raised in Jamaica, who had no interest in his English roots, only in his Jamaican future. There is so much to enjoy in this nuanced story and I highly recommend it.