The Memoirs of Lady Bustamante

Lady Bustamante grew up as Gladys Longbridge in the tiny village of Parson Reid near Ashton in Westmoreland. She was a talented, country girl and her friends and family persuaded her to finish her education in Kingston, and make the most of her abilities. They knew she would go far. But who could have foreseen just how far she would go?

"... The village of Ashton is not easily found on any map of Jamaica. It is as obscure today as it was when I was a child. Still, those of us who call it home are eternally proud of it... the main road was a stony, pot-holed pathway cut out for horse and buggy carriages. We had to follow a winding track up and down the hillside where the going and coming were even worse."

"...Before too long, I would become deeply involved in the movement to reform Jamaica. The folks at home would marvel at the fact that the quiet, Sunday-school organist from Ashton was at the forefront of a national upheaval, fighting for the underpaid working class and the hungry unemployed."

"...To this day, I cannot forget that even while feeling anxiety and resentment at Bustamante's arrest, I could not hold back the tears at the sight of the cruelty meted out to St William Grant - and for no sensible reason at all."