A Respectable Trade

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Frances and Mehuru are the main characters, but we also follow the Cole family's story. Josiah Cole is gullible and ambitious. Unlike Frances, he is morally ambivalent, desperate for ready cash, and prepared to gamble everything to join the big players of the city. But both he and his sister had very humble beginnings. Their father was a collier, and his older sister Sarah has worked hard all her life to establish a firm base for their trade, As to Settlements and Dowry – these certainly should be Arranged between his lordship and myself – but may I Assure you that you will find me Generous if you are Kind enough to look on my Proposal with favour. Writer: Philippa Gregory (from her novel) / Music: Julian Nott / Costume Design: Frances Tempest / Production Design: Anthony Ainsworth / Producer: Ruth Baumgarten / Executive Producers: Kevin Menton, Nigel Warren-Green, Ruth Caleb, Michael Wearing / Director: Suri Krishnamma

A Respectable Trade (TV Mini Series 1998) - IMDb A Respectable Trade (TV Mini Series 1998) - IMDb

He got up from his sleeping platform, wrapped a sheet around him and went quietly to the door. The city of Oyo was silent. He looked down his street; no light showed. Only in the massive palace wall could he see a moving light as a servant walked from room to room, the torch shining from each window he passed. A premissa era boa e a autora alinhavou a história com todos os ingredientes para um belíssimo livro. I liked seeing Frances grow as a character. She starts out being shy and submissive, willing to do whatever people tell her to do without asking any questions, but as the novel continues, she slowly becomes more independent, and realizes that what her husband is doing isn't entirely sound at all. Some might say that as a Bristol Merchant I am overly Ambitious in wishing to Ally myself with your Family. But you say Yourself that your circumstances do not permit the Luxury of Choice. And tho’ I am in business – in ‘Trade’ as I daresay his lordship might say – it is a ‘Respectable’ Trade with Good prospects. Admittedly, I was most interested in what was happening whenever Josiah was interacting with the Merchant Venturers, or even when Frances was "entertaining" because I'm just fascinated by the social norms of this time period but I agree with a lot of readers who said that the book could've done without the romance. It absolutely could've. It made me despise Frances and made me incredibly irritated with Mehuru. To the point that the ending was kind of a relief for me. Because it meant that Frances couldn't treat Mehuru like shit anymore, nor continue to take him for granted.

A Respectable Trade takes place in the port city of Bristol in 1787. The city—indeed much of the kingdom—thrives on the slave trade, while elsewhere William Wilberforce is just beginning his decades’ long campaign for the abolition of the trade. Into this mix comes gently-bred Frances, forced by economic necessity to marry a merchant far below her station. Frances is confronted for the first time with the realities of slavery in Bristol, and finds that it’s far harder to condone such injustice when you’re witnessing beatings, rapes, and gross dehumanization under one’s own roof (especially when one of the victims happens to be the love of your life). Philippa Gregory is an established writer and broadcaster for radio and television. She went to school in Bristol, has a history degree from the University of Sussex and a PhD in Eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. She has been widely praised for her historical novels, as well as for her works of contemporary suspense. The Other Boleyn Girl has been adapted for BBC television and is now a major film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. Philippa Gregory lives in the North of England with her family. I had an idea Then which I now Communicate to you: Namely that I wish that I might think of you as a Wife. 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.

A Respectable Trade (Historical Novels) Kindle Edition A Respectable Trade (Historical Novels) Kindle Edition

Philippa Gregory is a well-known author mainly for her Tudor Court series which is a favourite time period in history for me. I have read all the Tudor novels and loved them immensely like many others, so I thought I would give her earlier books a try. The attraction could lie with her selection of specific females; often historical noblewomen who have up to now only been noteworthy in the history books in terms of their potential for breeding, or in making favourable marriages for diplomatic or financial reasons. Philippa Gregory's treatment of these characters turns them into passionate, independent women, invariably with a very modern outlook. It is an appealing treatment - and clearly very successful. Whether it gives us an authentic historical view of these women is another matter. I’m getting older and I read for pleasure. Why should I continue to read a book that is just not for me? That being said, the criticism some readers have made about the way Frances’s moral quandry is resolved in the final chapter is pretty valid. Rather than have Frances be brave and confront injustice and live bravely for her convictions, she gets to…die. Kind of a cop-out on Gregory’s part, though it’s possibly preferable to France and Mehuru sailing off to Sierra Leone to live happily together forever and ever. But like I said, this is still a Philippa Gregory book. Fallen Skies is an extraordinary story of the turmoil and ugly legacy of the First World War from the bestselling author of Wideacre.

Speaking to the press Emma Fielding felt that the affair between Frances and Mehuru was key to getting across some important facts about the slave trade saying “the love story is a more acceptable way of showing slavery. This way it’s not just a history lesson.” Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen. If your view of Philippa Gregory is of an English historical novelist with a romantic slant, that is a fair description. She has won the "Romantic Novel of the Year Award" among others. But with A Respectable Trade, published in 1992, she was aiming for something a little different. It is an historical novel about the slave trade in England, and set in 18th century Bristol. Highly regarded, the script she wrote from it won an award from the "Committee for Racial Equality", and the film was subsequently shown worldwide. A Respectable Trade was nominated in several BAFTA categories, including best serial, winning one BAFTA for Frances Tempest's historical costumes. [2] Cast [ edit ]

A Respectable Trade (1998) | MUBI A Respectable Trade (1998) | MUBI

As I came to realize that this book wouldn't go anywhere satisfying (only about 1/3 of the way in), I stubbornly continued reading, hoping that it would get better. It did not. I was extremely disappointed in the pace of this novel and the slipshod character development. Gregory had ample opportunity to really get into the meat of the era, yet fell short in so many ways. The ending left me feeling that the main character, Frances, escaped making a life changing decision or even facing her own demons. The reasons for Mehuru's devotion were sketchy at best. Sarah's one-dimensional character was tiresome and Josiah came across as nothing more than a careless merchant who sought approval from everyone - very unlike the seasoned businessman that the author tried to portray. The dream must mean something. Mehuru had trained as an obalawa – a priest – one of the highest priests in the land. He should be able to divine his own dreams.A Respectable Trade is not what you expect from Philippa Gregory, but I think it showcases her talents and abilities a lot better than her more recent poolside-type historical fiction (based on the one Tudor book I’ve read). The novel provides an interesting analysis of how an individual's attitudes can change. The Bristol merchants do not seem to adapt at all, and neither do Frances's relatives, but those in her household mostly shift position as the novel progresses. Even the cook and servants, initially as exclusive, aggressive and judgemental as anyone, begin to side with the slaves, and the reader sees that both underclasses are forming a sort of solidarity. The writing is typical Philippa Gregory style, and it's utilized very well in this novel. Everything is descriptive, and it's gritty and realistic. She uses lots of unflinching descriptions in this, and it pays off really well. Despite how much controversy Philippa Gregory has around her books, I will never stop reading them. They're a lot of fun to read and also interesting, even if not everything is a hundred percent historically accurate.

A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory | Goodreads

It was a life that turned in tune with the earth, that followed the rains, that chimed with the seasons. It was as alien to slavery as a silver-winged flight of cattle egrets to a moulting hen in a coop."

England 1648. A dangerous time for a woman to be different . . . Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even to the remote Tidelands – the marshy landscape of the south coast. Fans of Gregory’s phenomenally successful Tudor novels will encounter a more somber, pensive writer in A Respectable Trade. Re-issued by Touchstone, this novel set in 18th century Bristol offers a painful glimpse into the flourishing slave trade of the era, which enabled the majority of England’s enterprising merchants and the nation at large to amass fortunes at the cost of unimaginable human suffering. Rather than opt for comfortable characters and pat storylines, Ms Gregory has crafted a quiet, powerful meditation on the nature of mankind’s inhumanity toward our fellow man, and the compromises we make to excuse and obscure our choices. It’s the middle of the night,’ the boy protested and then stopped when he saw Mehuru’s look. ‘Yes, master.’ The devastating consequences of the slave trade in 18th century are explored through the powerful but impossible attraction of well-born Frances and her slave, Mehuru. From the bestselling author of The Other Boleyn Girl.