Description
In The Village of One, journalist Richard Charan merges history, investigative journalism, and the art of storytelling
in recrafting unusual news stories originally written and published in The Trinidad Express newspaper, into a
fascinating book that will surprise and delight readers. At first glance, the stories may appear random and
directionless but read collectively and deeply, the reader soon comes to realise the writer’s achievement in giving
the faceless and forgotten a voice, as he explores the human condition as Trinbagonians come to confront who
they are and what they have lost.
Unlike a traditional history text, the stories that make up The Village of One are not chronological accounts of
important dates, famous people, memorable events, or distant places, but as Sunity Maharaj highlights in her
Foreword, ‘the ordinary and overlooked are magical apertures leading from Trinidad and Tobago’s present into its
fascinating past … where history is familiar, alive and within easy reach.’
Some of the stories will be familiar to readers of The Trinidad Express when they originally appeared as ‘news’ but
Charan has, in Maharaj’s words, stretched the boundaries of news to transform them into non-fiction essays in
which he offers readers a completely different thrill in the random encounters of a series of unforgettable people in
forgotten places.
Charan invites you to just read for the story, for the storytelling, and for the language. And if Richard did his job
well enough, you may discover what Trinbagonians lost.
About The Author
Richard Charan is multimedia editor /writer with The Trinidad Express newspaper.
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
GHOST VILLAGES
The Village of One
The Last Rum Shop Keeper
Mother Corn Hocks and the Cutlass
Finding the Pirate of Paramin
The Lost Settlement of TCO
The Highway Lie
The Wild Horses of Savana Grande
Dare the Devil
The Halfway House
The Unmarked Graves of Basta Hall
The Tombstone on Dragon Hill
STREAMS INTO RIVERS INTO OCEANS
When the Ortoire River Glows
Chip Chip Road
A Message from the Sea
The Mountain Road to Maracas
The Marac Mystery
A House in the Sea
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
The Man who Fell from the Sky
Gopal’s Gift
The Lady in the Attic
Loving Leela
The Mystery at Iere Village
Too Late for this Old Man
An Artist in Boscoe’s House
The Indian Mansion Builder
The Post Mistresses of Tortuga
Mr Koyo’s Castle
THE TREASURES OF TOBAGO
The Beautiful Builder
A Graveyard in the Sea
The Little House at Black Rock
Les Coteaux’s Secret
The Cliff Burials at Moriah
EVERY LINE OF THE RAILWAY
The Epic Life of Monteith Saunders
Love on the Line
Engine Man Eddie
Mr Lalchan and the Railway
Defending the Bridges
Time for the Railway
Bearded Mr Brown
BLACK GOLD DISASTERS
The Christmas Cataclysm of 1928
The Spill that Threatened Tobago
The Berth Tragedy of 1985
THE FIRST CITIZENS
The Last Caveman
What Lies Beneath
Mr Arjoon’s 2,000-Year-Old Secret
Hamlet and the Banwari Find
What Dogface Discovered
The Exorcist
EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
The Stowaways
Solomon Hochoy and the Village
Man on the Mountain
Three Sitting Pundits
The Hilltop Hermit
Finding Love on the Wharf
Miss Elaine of Grande Riviere
Uncle Boy, the Sculptor
For the Love of Annie
The Headmaster
The Closing Chapters
Blue-Eyed Betty of Moruga
Man vs Sea
The Sign Painter
The Legendary Jogie
The Vow
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
