A Respectable Trade - Philippa Gregory

I missed out on the mini series they made of this stand-alone Philippa Gregory novel - I'd not caught the PG bug, and the adverts made the whole thing seem a bit worthy.

I was wrong. The book is great, and the end leaves you with more unknowns than you might expect. Although the early chapters give you a lot of insight into what's going on in Mehuru's head, I found it disappointing that this tailed off once he'd got to Bristol at which point the book became much more action-narrative based. That said, the action's gripping, and you are still aware of the emotions that the main characters go through and the battles between the upwardly mobile Traders and the downwardly mobile niece of the Gentry as well as the ensalved Africans, and the host of lesser characters that make up the backdrop of 18th century Slaves and Sugar Trade.

An excellent and accessible book for people who don't know much about England's 18th century slave trade, and the way it underpinned many other trading activities, and influenced Parliament.

Buy it: Amazon link