Series 1, Episode 1 Summary
July is born to a field slave Kitty at the Amity sugar cane plantation, run by John Howarth and his younger sister Caroline. On a spoilt whim, Caroline decides she wants to train the adorable July as her personal maid. So, as a young girl, July is taken from her mother and forced to live in the great house. As July grows up and becomes a teenager, she learns how to 'handle' her mistress with her own small victories along the way.
The Christmas riots and the abolition of slavery turn the world of Amity upside down and throw July's destiny into question. But when order is restored and a new overseer Robert Goodwin arrives at Amity, July and Caroline are both intrigued by his seemingly revolutionary plans to improve the plantation. Could his ideals change everything?.
The Long Song Season 1 Episodes...
The Long Song Show Summary
Set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, the story follows the strong-willed, young slave July on a plantation owned by her odious mistress Caroline Mortimer. When a charming new arrival to the island, Robert Goodwin, becomes the new overseer, July and Caroline are both intrigued by his seemingly revolutionary determination to improve the plantation for the slaves and mistress alike. During a time of social unrest and turmoil, this powerful story is told from July's perspective as she looks back over her life; the tone is funny, defiant and indomitable. It's a story about the injustices that humans inflict upon each other and the unexpected ways in which people's humanity sometimes overrules their prejudices.