A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of A Respectable Trade
Book Review: Cleverly put together
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was written so well that it was possible to get inside the head of both the slaves, and the slave owners. The character of Frances was particularly interesting, as you were able to see how even a 'good' person found it difficult to know what was right and what was wrong. She had been told for so long that the slaves were lesser people that she was shocked when she came to realize that they weren't.
I have never read a romance story with such a difficult and unusual theme and I think Gregory did a marvellous job of portraying it.
Book Review: More Treatise Than Novel
Summary: 3 Stars
While the purpose was obviously educational about the English slave trade and how slave-stealing affected Africa as well as slaves themselves, this wasn't up to Gregory's usual standard as a novelist. As an American, I knew of the horrific conditions slaves endured aboard ship and in both America--including the North before the Civil War--and the even worse treatment of slaves and high mortality rate in the Sugar Isles. I didn't know how Africa was being stripped of so many healthy people, those left to maintain societies there were so few the whole continent was adversely affected. The story, however, is quite thin. Mehuru, the African priest stolen as a slave, is the most interesting character. Frances, the near asexual spinster white governess who marries a slave trader to function as a slave trainer, is not Gregory's usual full-blooded female character. Their attraction comes out of nowhere after his first impression of her is how ugly she is. Stockholm syndrome? We don't get a hint of that in the book. They couple once, and she conceives--usually rather unlikely--as her husband is impotent. The husband gets his just deserts, Frances suffers for her passion, and we get an Afterward saying how many escaped slaves in England were sheltered by working people, inbred with the English, and are ancestors of a lot of English people who are not aware of it today. Probably true in America and other places where slavery existed, though there was more of a stigma to marry a black person in the US going way back. Hardly justified, but the reason Thomas Jefferson let his children by Sally Hemmings go north and pass as white. Gregory's motives are good, her storytelling gifts overwhelmed by her convictions in this book. Book Review: Excellent Story about a Difficult Subject
Summary: 4 Stars
As a fan of this author, I wasn't disappointed with this book. The subject is difficult, but so real. I honestly hadn't ever read a book from this point of view concerning the slave trade in England. I recommend this book highly.Book Review: Very enjoyable--different from her other work
Summary: 4 Stars
This was an insightful novel that paints a picture of slavery I never knew...predating Anerica's struggles. Very well written and paced.Book Review: Not the bst, but very enjoyable!
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a huge fan of Philippa Gregory. I happened to find this book a few years ago, before it got the revamped cover and such. Maybe it was because I read it soon after The Virgin's Lover, which bored me to tears, but I really enjoyed this one!
I applaud Gregory's effort in such a difficult topic. And yet I felt it was very real and accurate. I tend to stay away from the topic of slavery, but I usually never pass up books from Philippa. I'm glad I did! I happened to get through the book pretty fast, and the ending was not predictable. Gregory usually includes gobs of sex in her books, but this one was pretty much devoid of it for the most part. For this sotry, it wasn't necessary, and it worked. Once again, her attention to historical detail is more or less accurate, and I love her ability to just create expand from facts.
While I appreciate the fact that Mehuru is well respected, I don't think it is all that plausible. Was she trying to redeem him for being black in some way? If he hadn't been African nobility, would that have changed his character or how he was viewed?
Although I personally enjoyed the book, I can see where others wouldn't. I would suggest a reader new to Philippa Gregory read her more popular titles first.