A Respectable Trade

Accepting that she doesn’t have any better prospects at the age of 34, Frances Scott enters into a marriage of convenience with a Bristol trader. She is soon after presented with a shipload of African slaves and instructed to school them in English and domestic duties so that they may be sold as servants to wealthy English households. With time, Frances begins to doubt the common assertion of the time that the slaves are animals and cannot be educated. One in particular, Mehuru, challenges everything she has been taught about the slave trade.

Gregory’s prose is once again breathtaking and meticulous. Unfortunately, the story itself was lacking in some areas. Frances is not much of a heroine; she isn’t particularly likable and never show more seems to have an opinion of her own. I wasn’t convinced of Frances’ and Mehuru’s love, having observed them seemingly going from distaste to affection with nothing in between.

Mehuru was by far the most interesting character, and I regret that we are not allowed to get to know him better. The most entertaining parts of the story involved his acclimatization to English society. Amusing are the scenes in which he is demonstrated comparing inferior aspects of English culture to those of his homeland (and the reader is forced to agree), and his descriptions of how ghastly the pale English people look. My favorite quote: “She is a white woman,” he said, trying to reassure himself, discounting his insight. “They all look sick to me.” show less

I can accept the romance, I can even almost accept the difficult character of the Frances. But that in such a short time Mehuru could learn to speak nearly perfect English, and teach himself to read, and that while talking his mother tongue frequently, I do not believe.

On the other hand, once making the decision to suspend belief it is a good read.

A very well written book set in late 18th century England. A cautionary tale of getting above your station in life -- reaching for the next social and business rung only to have the entire ladder collapse. Interesting insight into the slave trade and the shipping business of the era. Josiah and Sarah Cole are the owners of a modest fleet of three ships trading small goods. They then bring back some slaves for Josiah's new wife Frances to teach English and turn them into English servants. Would have been better if several of them were sold off, while somehow maintaining Mehuru. Mehuru and Frances become the focal point, with the conclusion of the book being that Frances dies while giving birth to Mehuru's son after they had one night show more together that got her pregnant. show less

Words can't describe how annoying this book was (although I'm willing to try). I like Philippa Gregory a lot - she reminds me of a historical Jackie Collins. In general, her books are smutty and fun. (Although I'm glad she got the incest out of her system early in her career, 'cause that was a tad creepy.)

If this book was JUST historical fiction, it would've been trashy, a bit melodramatic and pretty dang fun to read. However, Ms. Gregory had to make it a romance too, which ruined it.

I wasn't surprised by the plot since the romance was featured prominently on the back cover blurb. I just felt if Frances (the slave trader's wife) was going to go against her society norms and shake off every prejudice she had ever been taught, she show more needed a little wooing from the object of her affection! At least have him wear some skintight pants and sweat a lot while doing a manly task like woodchopping. (That's how Harlequins do it.) Instead, Mehuru (the slave) walked in the room for about the 7th time in the book and the two were suddenly deeply in love.

It was so abrupt (and so odd) I kept checking the page numbers to make sure I hadn't missed some important clue as to what the heck was going on. show less

"He did not know that for the first time and painfully, Frances was feeling emotions stir and warm into life."

Josiah Cole needs cash and a socially connected wife. Frances Scott needs a husband. Once married, they find themselves dependent on sustaining a particular sort of lifestyle in order to keep moving upwards. They overpay for a house, over-furnish the house, all under the resentful eye of Josiah's maiden sister.

I know very little about slavery, at any point or place, really. Only after watching Amazing Grace did I know anything about William Wilberforce and the abolitionist movement here in the UK; only after watching and reading The Help did I really know anything about racial politics in 1960s southern USA, plus drawing on show more reading To Kill a Mockingbird at school (and I'll admit to still not knowing very much). And I know even less about 1780s Bristol, the sugar trade or rum.

But I abandoned this after 370 pages out of 500 - so close to the end and yet I did not want to spend more time wasted on these insipid, fearful characters so bent on destroying their own lives.

I wanted to like this; I know very little of the topic and feel that I should know more. But I found the characters too irritating and undeserving of more of my time. show less

In the past I’ve enjoyed quite a few of Philippa Gregory’s novels, but though I found the premise of A Respectable Trade interesting, how the African slave trade impacted upon the lives of an African priest, a small-time Bristol merchant, his spinster sister and a destitute gentlewoman; I wasn’t too enthralled with the execution. On the whole, it’s well-written, and I felt a large amount of empathy for all the main characters; the research put into it was quite obviously formidable, and Gregory has a talent for bringing history to life.

However I had trouble swallowing certain aspects of the novel; it starts out great, but about halfway through I found it harder and harder to suspend my disbelief. The very end was a huge show more disappointment to me, in fact I may have to reread the novel and make sure I understood the end correctly; because if I did, I think it’s an awfully convenient ending to an otherwise enjoyable read. show less

While I love Philippa Gregory's storytelling, this was my least favorite of her books. The story is compelling, but I found it to be a little overdone. The ending leaves too much unfinished, almost as if a sequel had been planned but never written. I was never able to sympathize with the main character; she went from uncaring to passionate in what seemed a very artificial way, without much insight into what caused the change. Even though I tore through the book in just two days, I was disappointed when I reached the last page.