Novel about 18th-century black Briton Charles Ignatius Sancho wins RSL prize

Moving retelling of Sancho's life by actor Paterson Joseph awarded prestigious Christopher Bland prize

If anyone's life is worthy of a book, it's that of Charles Ignatius Sancho. The acclaimed writer and composer was born on a slave ship crossing the Atlantic in 1729, where both his parents died; arrived in London, where he suffered hardship and danger; found love; met the king; and became the first black person to vote in Britain.

Now, a moving retelling of Sancho's life by the actor Paterson Joseph has won the Royal Society of Literature's prestigious Christopher Bland prize - awarded to a debut writer who has published their first book over the age of 50.