Customer Reviews

A Respectable Trade

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I wouldn't exactly call this a romance. More of a historical account of the horrors of slavery. Francis Scott marries a man that does not suit her at all. Considered old and impoverished, her new station in life is to teach the people her husband and his sister kidnap from Africa to sell as slaves - a fact Francis learns after she has married. Francis is quite caring and compassionate & soon falls for one of the slaves, Mehuru. Mehuru proves to be everything her own husband isn't - warm, caring, sensitive and attentive. The tale of this pair's faith and hope is downright heartbreaking. Knowing they can not live as a couple in England - especially with Francis' being married, Francis and Mehuru must hide their feelings for each other. Again, the horrors of slavery are shocking and disturbing . Pretty accurate in portrayal since slavery was one of the ugliest events in time. Philippa Gregory is often called a romance novelist. The title historical fiction writer would serve her better. This highly informed and talented writer's work is a pleasure to read! Although I enjoyed the novel, I found the ending to be a bit of a letdown. Too many loose-ends are left untied - rendering it only 4 stars.

I have to say, I found the main romance of this novel more than a bit unbelievable, but once I suspended my disbelief and gave the story a chance, it became very moving. I think one of the best things about the story is how every main character, no matter how misguided or negative their actions, is not a bad person. They all make mistakes, but they all have an element of decency, and each of them is trying to do what he or she feels is the right thing to do. The book is another affirmation of the basic evil of slavery, but it doesn't preach about it- Gregory makes the point through moving, character-driven scenes. This book really made me view history in an entirely new light.

This well written historical novel gives a glimpse into a less well known aspect of slavery namely, the slave trade in England. The depictions of life in 18th C Bristol are believable. The follies of the newly rich are applicable to all times and were amusing. The romance between the Yoruban slave and the mistress of the house is a bit overdone but a useful vehicle for the plot. What kept this from being really excellent was the somewhat superficial characterizations.

A Respectable Trade is a book that will definetly shock you. It is the story of two people - Yoruban seer and healer Mehuru, and the repressed English lady Francis Scott. In the beginning of the novel, Francis is thirty four, and becoming desperate for a husband. When she gets an offer from the social climbing merchant Josiah Cole, she quickly accepts. She finds out early in her marriage that Josiah has made most of his money from the "respectable" business of slave trading. At this same point, Mehuru has been captured, thrown on a boat bound for England... and the household of Josiah and Francis. This book is interesting more for its historical deatils and insight than for its (admittedly rather silly) romance. But the history is enough to make it an extremely thought provoking and intelligent book.

This book was very well written, but also very stark and unflinching in its portrayal of the slave trade in the city of Bristol at the end of the eighteenth century. It was not a nice time, and the city was neither genteel nor polite, no matter how much it pretended to be. The book captured this roughness, as well as the political maneuverings of the very rich, who managed to use everyone who was not included in their select circle for their own personal gain.

Enter into this scene one impoverished lady with only her good name, an ambitious merchant and his sister, and a highly educated slave, and you get a story filled with complicated loyalties and difficult questions. What impressed me about this book is that it offered no trite answers to these questions.

Historical fiction guru Philippa Gregory tackles an important subject in this novel, treating the slave trade in Greta Briton with compassion and an eye to its historical implications. Once the merchant-venturers hit upon the lucrative scheme of importing slaves from Africa, their endeavor proves brilliant, paying investors handsomely, establishing Briton as a maritime and economic power and center for capitalism. To be sure, the industrial revolution is financed by the enormous profits of the slave trade and the bartering of plantation goods. By 1787, the trade in human cargo is exploding, heavily-financed vessels sailing from the Bristol docks to Africa in increasing numbers.

Josiah Cole is a small fish in a huge pond, yearning to fulfill his ambitions by taking advantage of the slave economy. To that end, the ineffective Cole agrees to an arranged marriage with Frances Scott, a young woman with significant social contacts but no dowry to speak of. Josiah hopes to join his business acumen with her impressive contacts, increasing their potential for success. The first shipment of slaves includes Mehuru, a priest in his own country, captured, shackled and at the mercy of his new white masters. When Frances undertakes the tutoring of the slaves, Mehuru displays a notable propensity for learning the nuances of the language, serving as a go-between with the other slaves, appealing to Frances' kindness to intercede on their behalf. Through their interaction, Frances becomes more aware of the evils of the trade, meanwhile falling helplessly in love with a man who is, at best, her property.

Under the suspicious eyes of her sister-in-law, Sarah Cole, Mehuru challenges Frances to examine her conscience, demanding that she set him free if she truly loves him. The clandestine affair blooms in secrecy, but is doomed by society that allows masters and slaves to coexist. While Frances examines the immorality of trading in human lives, Josiah continues to be plagued by poor business decisions, duped by those he seeks to join, the Merchant Venturers. For Mehuru, a new future looms, abolition a topic of heated debate in Parliament, activist groups like the London Society interceding on behalf of the working poor and the slaves. Certainly, great change hovers on the horizon, as evidenced by a restive France and America.

Gregory paints a picture of a country in flux, greedy for economic dominance, the trade in slaves facilitating expansion on a significant level. At the same time, the love affair between Frances and Mehuru allows the exploration of the human element, the contrast of slaves and masters, lives forever changed by a system that yields tremendous profit for the investors. Ensconced in a marriage that is little better than a barter for security, Frances is beset by status anxiety, common among such women who have no financial prospects save a well-considered marriage. As isolated in her way as Mehuru, Frances falls easily into this ill-starred romance, learning too late the value of personal freedom in a profit-driven world. Luan Gaines/2007.

Philippa Gregory is an enjoyable and dependable story teller. You know that you will meet well developed characters who act out unlikely plots and hold your interest, even if story lines become a bit predictable. A Respectable Trade, the story of a series of unlikely events set in Bristol toward the end of the 18th Century, follows this Gregory formula and solidly delivers.

Mehuru is a priest in the African kingdom of Yoruba and is on a quest to save his country from the ravages of slavery when he is beset upon and captured by white slavers from England. Perhaps ironically, his own slave is captured as well. Meanwhile, back in England, landless and aging Frances Scott is wearing her welcome thin under the roof of her uncle's lordly family and thus applies for a job as governess. Instead of a job, she is offered marriage by the man who interviewed her, one Josiah Cole. Cole is a struggling shipping merchant with ambition who sees ties to the Scott family as a stepping stone on his road to wealth and respect. His cold fish sister Sarah isn't too keen on Josiah's attempt to climb the social ladder. With no other options, Frances marries beneath her station and tries to make the best of it.

The charges she was originally interviewed to govern turn out to be a dozen or so African men, women and children. Sarah and Josiah believe that they can train these select slaves to be excellent house servants who speak the Queen's English and within 6 months turn a pretty profit by selling to select Bristol families. Frances, who has never considered the grisly details about how her families (new and of origin) make their money, finds herself questioning all she has known. She sure likes the comforts of upper class living... but when she suddenly realizes the "stock" have faces, names and feelings, Frances discovers new feelings of her own. Is she an accessory to a crime? A teacher? A respectalbe wife from a respectable family? Her feelings become especially new and uncomfortable when Mehuru walks into her dingy merchant dining room...

The details of the story which follow are both slightly predictable and unfathomable considering the time (Mehuru quickly becomes fluent speaking and reading English and manages to be rather mobile and unsupervised for what one might expect for a slave in Bristol during the height of the trade). However, the themes which underlie the story are well worth exploring. Is the grass really greener on the other side? Does wealth equate respectability? Does race matter? Does social class? How much risk should one take when investing? How much research? Where does wealth come from? Who really pays? Can love really over come all?

In our ever growing global capitalist economy, these are important questions to consider. Why not reflect upon social justice and responsibility while reading a solidly enjoyable novel?

This is a story of the times when slave trading was not illegal in Britain. The new wife of a slave trader finds herself with the job of training slaves to sell to the gentry to make a profit. She is down trodden and powerless, and is slowly drawn to one of the slaves with whom she falls in love with.

Philippa Gregory writes well, her novels finish tidily and are written with humour. I always like the characters I'm meant to like, dislike the baddies and feel content with the outcome. However, with this book, I could only see the love one way, the slave had contempt for his owner, and then suddenly he was in love with her. Still, an interesting book on a horrendous time in history

This book was rich in detail but was really lacking in some areas. I continually lost interest and was not convinced at the reality of the characters in the story. I have read many other books written by Phillipa and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I was unable to put down many of her books about the Boleyn girls and the Virgin Lover was great too. I felt like this book could have been half as long and would have been complete....try Phillipa's other books, they are great!

I am a huge fan of The Other Boleyn Girl, which really brought that particular period in British history and the people who populated it to life. This is the second Gregory book I have read and it was a real letdown.

At times, this book is a gripping read. I found it profoundly chilling the way the characters would casually discuss the slave trade as if they were talking about bales of cotton. This is when the book is at its very best. Every time Josiah, Sarah, and Frances would talk business, I could feel myself almost physically recoiling at the very disturbing way in which they talked about slavery. The beginning of the book was especially strong in this respect and Gregory did a masterful job of capturing the point of view of the average white slave trader of the time. Their dehumanizing view of the Africans they were forcing into bondage was so profound that they actually believed that they were not dealing with people. It made me nearly physically ill to think that there actually were people of this mindset, people who could torture and abuse and commit horrific acts against other people and think nothing of it. It is a chilling period in history. Unfortunately, the masterful handling of this issue is not enough to save the book. The one-dimensional stock characters and unbelieveable love story bog the story down and detract from the central theme of the inherent wrongness of the slave trade.

Mehuru was a particularly disappointing character for me. He is more stereotype than human. His purpose couldn't be more clear had Gregory written him as having the word "dignity" tattooed across his forehead. Yet, in spite of his high principles, he falls madly in love with the woman who owns him, even though there is no apparent reason for it. A man who loves his country as much as Mehuru does, who despises slavery as much as he does, who is as offended at the dehumanization as he was seems to me to hardly be the type of man to find a woman such as Frances very tempting. While it does make sense that he would see some similarities between his situation and hers, it doesn't make sense to me that people who come from such different backgrounds and who have such profoundly different experiences in life would find much common ground. Moreover, Frances does little to nothing to protect Mehuru.

As for Frances, she's simply boring. She is a stock character, plainly put. Her role is to be the genteel woman left without means who doesn't want to become a burden to her wealthier, titled relatives. There is much to pity in someone in such a position but Frances does little more than become pale and grave. Jane Eyre she is not. Even as she comes to realize how disgusting slavery is and even as she falls in love with Mehuru, she does precious little to voice her convictions. She is too weak and too mealy-mouthed to appeal as a character and her reasons for falling in love with Mehuru are borderline offensive. I found it hard to buy the idea that she passionately loved him when it seemed more that she liked the idea of being the one in control rather than being the one controlled.

The other thing I found disturbing was the naming of the slaves. Mehuru and Kbara are the only two given African names. Frances's giving them Christian names is cast in an offensive light and yet the female slaves are from that point on referred to by their Christian names by the narrator, as are the children. It seemed like they were being written off, as if because they weren't central to the story it wasn't worth the bother of giving them African names.

Lastly, the Coles were a tremendous letdown. Josiah is there merely to be an obstacle to Frances's love for Mehuru. Sarah is a character who could have been very interesting and multifaceted had she been handled well. She has every reason in the world for feeling the anger and resentment she feels but she is relegated to the role of shrew. In my opinion, she could have been the best character in the book but instead she is rendered so unlikable that even her most legitimate complaints come across as purely annoying. Had she been portrayed in a more human light, it would have made her attitude toward the slaves all the more chilling.

In summary, Gregory's grasp of history is superb and she obviously put a lot of time and effort into her research. It's a shame that her limp characters detract so severely from that work.