Spoilers: I felt like Frances and Mehru falling in love was entirely unrealistic. It was apparently love at first sight, which is completely implausible. Frances was accustomed to slaves and was only slightly upset when two of them died, yet managed to fall in love with one? Mehru, a leader in his own country, managed to fall in love with the women who owned him, permitted him to be whipped, and eventually agrees to sell him. Only made it through 60 percent of the book because I found that match so unbelievable. It was not at all well developed, just seemed to appear.

A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory | Goodreads

I also liked seeing Mehuru and his interactions with the other slaves. I wish they had a bit more development though, especially Mehuru, seeing as how he was one of the main characters. 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. So I gave myself until the end of this month to finish this and Lord have mercy I was actually able to finish but reading this book was HARD WORK. I don't know if I'll ever read another Philippa Gregory book and if I do it'll only be because I want to see if it's just as poorly written as A Respectable Trade. I also felt the romance wasn't developed well-enough. It was there, but I felt like it could've been explained a bit better. Why do the two care for each other as much as they do?I am Sensible of the Honour you would do me, Madam, and Conscious of the Advantage your connexion would bring me. But may I also hope that this Proposal of mine will Preserve you from a lifetime of employment to which your Delicate talents and Aristocratic Connexions must render you unfit? this book is about a topic so important to me that I wanted to emphasise some of the historical facts". 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 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.

A Respectable Trade (BBC Drama, Warren Clarke) - Memorable TV

The storyline is an interesting one, and Philippa Gregory has some skill in conveying both a strong sense of place and the immediacy of the moment. The first two thirds of the book are highly enjoyable as a fictionalised account, of a possible scenario, in a very real snapshot of part of England's shameful history. However, a plot development had been signalled very early on, and the final chapters sacrifice much for this particular plotline. A romantic element is only a part of a strong story such as this. It is always in danger of overwhelming the text, as it does here. In four part period BBC drama A Respectable Trade, adapted by Philippa Gregory from her own novel, it is 1788 in Bristol where governess Frances Scott (Emma Fielding) finds her life undergoing a dramatic change when she marries ambitious ship owning slave trader Josiah Cole (Warren Clarke). 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. Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output. 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.

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The romantic love interest was so far fetched and so completely irresponsible of one of the main characters (Francis) that I just couldn’t ! However, it was a fairly slow novel at points, mainly because a lot of the dialogue just focused on trade and business. I understand why, but I didn't think so much focus on it was entirely necessary. I also felt the other side characters weren't developed enough. There was simply too many of them, and I think she should've kept the focus on the two main characters, and then maybe throw in another side character or two to develop. 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, Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.

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

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. 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. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuthThe 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. While this setting of late 1700’s England, deeply immersed in the time of slave trade, is unnerving to a modern reader I believe the story is told as well as could be done. There is no “soapbox” preaching of good vs evil. I appreciate the story told from a candid point of view, using that time period’s vernacular and attitudes to let the reader decide for themself the right and wrong of the slave trade/working situations and not have it pushed on to the reader via the telling of the story.