A Respectable Trade

Description

Bristol in 1787 is booming, a city where power beckons those who dare to take risks. Josiah Cole, a small dockside trader, is prepared to gamble everything to join the big player of the city . But he needs capital and a well-connected wife.Marriage to Frances Scott is a mutually convenient solution. Trading her social contacts for Josiah's protection, Frances finds her life and fortune dependent on the respectable trade of sugar, rum and slave.Into her new world comes Mehuru, once a priest in the ancient African kingdom of Yoruba. From opposite ends of the earth, despite the enmity of slavery, Mehuru and Frances confront each other and their need for love and liberty. First published 1996. This revised edition 2005.

Promotion info

The devastating consequences of the slave trade in 18th century Bristol are explored through the powerful but impossible attraction of well-born Frances and her Yoruban slave, Mehuru. / Highly acclaimed novel from top author in this field of authentic but accessible historical fiction / Reissued in sumptuous new style, to appeal to all who have bought the bestselling THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, THE QUEEN'S FOOL and THE VIRGIN'S LOVER / To be reissued at the same time as paperback of THE VIRGIN'S LOVER: author will be publicised across all media / This was the first of Philippa Gregory's novels to be adapted for BBC TV, in a tremendously successful 4-part series / Competition: Deborah Moggach, Hilary Mantel, Rose Tremain

Author description

Philippa Gregory is an internationally renowned author of historical novels. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. Works that have been adapted for television include A Respectable Trade, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. The Other Boleyn Girl is now a major film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. Philippa Gregory lives in the North of England with her family.