I relished my journey to Bristol in the days immediately following the abolition of slavery. I picked my way through filthy, stinking streets in the company of narrator Inigo Bright. Its splendid terraces for the wealthy are currently being erected, but that doesn't mean that the city isn't choked in corruption and vice. Inigo is a young, bored lawyer who's mainly engaged in checking and verifying documents. Until one set of documents plunges him into dangerous territory, though he hardly, at first, knows where this will lead him.

I found the actual story a little confusing at times, especially towards the end. But as a way of approaching an understanding of the city of Bristol, in the aftermath of the slaving industry, it's worth a read. ( )

Received May 2011 from Faber and Faber via the Early Reviewers on Librarything.com. Will assume it's an Uncorrected Proof when reviewing, though this has not been explicitly stated.[return][return][return]Review:[return]I read the prologue the day I got the book, then put it aside to concentrate on the current read (The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt - zzzzzzzzz). Anyway gave up on that book yesterday in favour of this, and I'm glad I did. Starting with chapter 1, I initially thought it had forwarded onto a 21st Century setting - the main character descending into his favourite coffee shop and being served ahead of the irregulars who were already there. It wasn't until later in the chapter that you realised the story was set not long after the abolition of slavery. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that during the whole story you dont actually know what year it's set in.[return][return]Anyway, the story progresses on in a fast paced measure, as Inigo starts to investigate the discrepancies in the port ledgers for one trading company in particular (with which his family have a vested interest) and the disappearance of his lawyer mentor.[return][return]When I put my name in for this book I had recently read March by Geraldine Brooks which was set during the slavery period in America and had some quite brutal depictions of how slaves were treated on the plantations. The transportation of slaves in tight, cramped conditions was covered in The Devil's Mask but was less confrontational - the focussing on woman was a suitable touch.[return][return]One thing I was struck with today: During the story, Inigo gets beaten up (several times), has walked through rain, mud and sewage, stayed up all night over several nights. I think there's one mention of changing a shirt (but no shoes or trousers); One quip about his hair after walking in rain; however, no other changes of clothes, no "Inigo, what's with the thick ear?" after the fight in the pub, no little children running away/making fun of beaten up faces; One mention about a bruise on his belly (but his face pretty enough to have escaped any damage whatsoever) and apart from multiple cups of coffee and one meal with his father, apparently Inigo doesnt eat, doesnt wash or change his clothes and rarely sleeps. At all. And considering the lack of other description of either Inigo or any other major character, the multiple reference to Inigo's hair did begin to grate after a while[return][return]Overall, I enjoyed it, it was well written and suitably paced ( )

Intense! Loved reading about Bristol and learning about the illegal slave trade. Great pacing - a historical thriller - awesome ( )

Intense! Loved reading about Bristol and learning about the illegal slave trade. Great pacing - a historical thriller - awesome ( )

This superb novel is about the lengths people will go to in order to conceal their wrongdoings. At its heart is the cargo of the ship Belsize which has just docked in Bristol port.
Inigo Bright qualified as an attorney to work in Bristol just six months before the story starts. He belongs to a merchant family; his three brothers work for his father’s company. His father definitely looks down on Inigo for abandoning the family business. Sometimes the company funds whole ships and sometimes only buys a share in a ship. This is the case in the most recent voyage of the Belsize. While the action is focussed on the Belsize and its investors, it takes place all over Bristol and, briefly, in Bath. The shareholders in the last voyage were only interested in making a profit and didn’t care how it was done.
Adam Carthy the lawyer who Inigo works for, has been asked to audit the Dock accounts to establish which ships and companies have failed to pay their customs dues over the past few years. Very quickly, Inigo becomes aware that there was something not right about the Belsize’s last voyage. At the same time mutilated bodies of three black people are found still with manacles attached to them. This is surprising as slavery was abolished some time ago in Britain. Then a black seaman – Blue – steps in to help Inigo. He was on the last voyage of the Belsize and tells him that some slaves were carried in a concealed deck. At this point Carthy is kidnapped and Inigo is warned off any further investigation. Soon after that, Inigo and Blue go to Bath to interview one of the ship’s officers. Only they are taken and kept in prison by a corrupt Bristol judge.
Eventually the truth emerges about the illegal slavery, but Inigo is stripped of hiss right to work as an attorney in Bristol. Carthy’s kidnapper turns out to have been his own father who also kept one of the illegally imported slaves in the same dungeon under his house.
This is a good story, well told. I keeps your attention right to the very end as the twists and turns are surprising. A humorous, and recurrent theme in the novel is the problem Inigo has in controlling his unruly hair. ( )