A Respectable Trade
Written by Philippa Gregory
Narrated by Adjoa Andoh
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Bristol in 1787 is booming, a city where power beckons those who dare to take risks. Josiah Cole, a small dockside trader, is prepared to gamble everything to join the big players of the city. But he needs capital and a well-connected wife.
Marriage to Frances Scott is a mutually convenient solution. Trading her social contacts for Josiah's protection, Frances finds her life and fortune dependent on the respectable trade of sugar, rum, and slaves.
Into her new world comes Mehuru, once a priest in the ancient African kingdom of Yoruba, now a slave in England. From opposite ends of the earth, despite the difference in status, Mehuru and Frances confront each other and their need for love and liberty.
Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory is an internationally renowned author of historical novels. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. Works that have been adapted for television include A Respectable Trade, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. The Other Boleyn Girl is now a major film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. Philippa Gregory lives in the North of England with her family.
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Reviews for A Respectable Trade
208 ratings10 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Engrossing story that takes your emotions for a ride in several ways.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A 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 together that got her pregnant.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5"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 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I can't believe I read this back in 2008. This is another book I can't stop thinking about. I love Philippa Gregory's Tudor series and have read every single one (except for The Other Queen which I will read soon). I went into this book with high expectations, and I wasn't let down. It's not as good as her Tudor series, but it's still amazing.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I agree that the "romance" really ruined this book. It was unbelievable and trite.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Words 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 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Phillipa Gregory does a wonderful job of showing you the horrible world of slave trading and the divisions in society. At times I had to stop reading because I was overwhelmed with horror at what was acceptable behavior for the time. It's a great book and well worth the read. Would be perfect as a book club choice.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not as enjoyable to read as Gregory's other novels. An impoverished "lady" marries beneath herself, to assure her future. Josiah is a small-time trader in Bristol, dealing some in the slave trade. Francis' job as his wife is to teach a group of slaves to speak English and learn how to be proper house servants. Francis falls in love with Mehuru, a very intelligent, cultured African nobleman - now her slave. Explores the politics and culture of slavery in late 18th century England. From this book I learned of William Wilburfurce who led the fight as a mamber of parliament to abolish the slave trade.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5While 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I found this difficult to read in places as it describes so well the suffering endured by slaves in the 1700's, but it is an amazing story , quite haunting.