Sandra Riley is a playwright who, after spending time in The Bahamas, decided to start writing a history of it. This may sound negative but I was pleasantly surprised by this work, it was well-written narrative.

She starts from the formation of the islands (ecological history) and goes up to right after emancipation. All of the chapters are chocked full of source material that she makes GREAT use of. The focus on Abaco was the anchor for narrative was refreshing because many (myself included) tend to use Nassau/New Providence as the anchor. Riley does a lot of telling with no argument, though she does interrogate and interpret source material. She's not trying to prove anything. She's just telling a story.

She uses a lot of colonial office records and missionary accounts for source material, which in turn does hide POC voices. But she does highlight women in every chapter of her work, which is something no one else who does Bahamian history (so far that I have read, 10+ books) has done. She makes sure to hone in on women in every era of life. She even has an interesting incident of prostitution which to me is EXTREMELY intriguing because I have been thinking more and more about prostitution in the history of The Bahamas.

Rile does a great job on the foggy details from 1783-1796 that always seem to be swept up in the phrase 'The Loyalists hated the Conchs (older Bahamian inhabitants) and the Governors.' However she falls into the trap of those in Bahamian historiography that chose to compare slavery by pushing the narrative that Bahamian slavery was not 'that bad' as compared to other places. However over all I think she gives a great view on most historical events in Bahamian history.