A Respectable Trade

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When she marries Cole, Frances doesn’t realise he expects her to help run his business. When she does get involved she develops an attraction to slave Mehuru (Ariyon Baker). Philippa Gregory is clearly aware of her reputation for embroidering the facts. She stated that she had never before felt the need to write an author's note for her novels, but that,

A Respectable Trade | Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory’s historical novels include The Other Boleyn Girl (developed into a BBC adaptation as well as a Hollywood film), The Queen’s Fool, The Virgin’s Lover, Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth. I had an idea Then which I now Communicate to you: Namely that I wish that I might think of you as a Wife. 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. 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.

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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. But what she doesn't know is that Josiah is in his fever to land a rich wife and progress in trade is dealing in uninsured trips to "acquire" slaves. It’s the middle of the night,’ the boy protested and then stopped when he saw Mehuru’s look. ‘Yes, master.’

A Respectable Trade (1998) - Turner Classic Movies A Respectable Trade (1998) - Turner Classic Movies

Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II. This was a totally different direction for her, and I think it payed off fairly well. Instead of writing of the intricacies of the Tudor Court, she instead heads forward in time to write about the brutality of the Bristol slave trade and the romance between a noblelady and one of her slaves.

The institution of slavery is thus at the heart of this story, and all the characters in the novel are involved in the trade, or profiting from it - either directly or indirectly. In one way or another, slavery drives all their actions. The novel mainly concerns Frances Scott, an orphan who is living on the kindness of her aunt and uncle, Lord and Lady Scott, and working unhappily as a governess. She sees an advertisement for a new position advertised by Josiah Cole, a merchant involved in the slave trade. Frances has always known about slavery but only in a distant way,