Customer Reviews
An angry book which still sustains the 'us' and 'them' - By: Roman Clodia, 03 Nov 2008 
This is, rightfully, an angry book that uncovers the British slave-trade & the inhumanities upon which empire is built. Gregory is clearly incensed, both politically & personally, about this hidden history & uncovers the ignorance & wilful self-deceit which underpins any kind of prejudice, whether racial, sexual, gendered etc.
However I felt that her very anger made this a very unsubtle book, unsophisticated precisely because of its polemic & didactic stance. Characters became representatives of political view-points: the ambitious lower-middle class tradesman determined to rise socially; his bitter & inhumane sister; the wife sold into a different type of slavery & yet unwilling to set herself free, & the noble, good, humane black slaves...
... & here is the crux of the problem: Gregory allows herself to fall into the trap of inverting & so sustaining the racial differences that allow slaveryin the first place: while the `baddies' see the Africans as animals, she portrays them as saints. They are all completely noble, intelligent, loving, nurturing, unselfish, with an inbuilt sense of music & dance & an instinctive feeling for the earth & nature - the opposite of most of the white characters. And so rather than breaking down barriers & finding a common humanity between both groups where people are a mix of good & bad, selfish & giving regardless of their skin colour, Gregory insidiously (and I would guess unintentionally) maintains the difference, sustaining the `us' & `them', even if `we' are on the sides of the slaves.
This is a flawin other novels I have read about slavery: Diana Norman's A Catch of Consequence, & Jane Stevenson's Astraea trilogy come to mind. By making the black characters completely morally & ethically `white', the structures of racial difference are not collapsed but actively re-built & maintained. By making the black characters completely `other' (and the instance of Mehuru's clairvoyance is a good example), they are still marginalised, still `orientalised' (in Edward Said's words), & still not like `us' (whoever `we' might be...)
So, overall, this is a brave novel, heartfelt & with good intentions, but ultimately, for me, an unsettling onein ways the author probably didn't intend.
Wonderful book, but... - By: Deb, 20 Dec 2007 
I'll echo the reviews by others, but I want to add a note of warning for anyone purchasing a copy - I have an copy, bought new, that sat unread for far too long on my bookshelves. The pages from 417 to 464 are missing & it seems that these include the crux of the tale. (Examining the book, this looks like a printers error rather than pages falling out as the book isin A1 condition.) A huge disappointment!
If you are picking up a second hand copy, avoid ISBN 0 00 647337 7 publishedin 1996.
powerful - By: Ms. Nadia Bashoo, 21 Nov 2007 This novel by Philippa Gregory takes a look at the slave tradein the period leading up to the abolition.
It tells the story of Mahuru, a high priest taken as a slave, & Francis Scott, the wife of the merchant who owns the slave ship that took him.
In an effort to increase his wealth, Francis's husband wishes to train the slaves as servants to be sold to wealthy families, & to Francis falls the task of teaching them English customs.
The characterisationin this novel is very superior. Mahuru is a kind, intelligent man who quickly masters the English language, but never loses sight of his heritage. But perhaps the most developed character is Francis, as she struggles between the ways of the English aristocrat that have been drilledin to her since childhood, & her growing empathy with those she must teach. Philippa Gregory handles this with skill, & those who have criticised Francis for wanting the best of both worlds, forget that far from being a woman ahead of her time, Philippa Gregory has taken the more original step of creating a woman very much of her time.
Her descriptions of the brutality the slaves had to endure are poignant & all the more disturbing for their accuracy. It is right that the story does not gloss over the behaviour of our ancestors, as a less dedicated writer of historical fiction might be tempted to do. This novel has the Philippa Gregory trade mark attention to detail & thorough painstaking research. I was quite moved to tears by the end.
A haunting novel well worth reading & rereading.
A vivid depiction of a historical tragedy - By: Shirwan A. Mirza, 04 Jul 2007 This is one of my favorite books. In addition to being an enjoable read,, one would learn well-researched historical facts about slave trade that deprived Africa of its sons & daughters of talents.
Its consequences could be seen even today. This book lends a human dimension to this historical tragedy. We hear the slaves telling their stories around the kitchen table of their masters. We hear their cries, their laughter, their longing for their families & their homeland. The novel also shows the shallow thinking of those slave masters. Even the protagonist of the story, who is supposed to be a sympathetic figure, is superficialin her thinking & even hypocritical.
She wanted to have it all: wealth, status, & empty aristocratic titles. Then she sought love & lust from the very people she enslaved & stripped from basic human rights including the right to have non-English names; & she insisted on keeping them slaves up to the very end. The African man is a great personality. He shocked his masters with his intelligence & wisdom & the speed with which he excelledin their language.
He drew strength from the memories of his homeland. He drew warmth from the bright sun shiningin the sky of his hometown while suffering the dark clouds of his new life.
From the back cover.... - By: Angel Silver, 05 Apr 2007 Josiah Cole is a small dockside traderin 1787 Bristol -- a city where power & wealth beckon those who dare to take risks. Josiah is willing to gamble everything to be among the "players." The only thing he lacks is the right wife.
At thirty-four, Frances Scott is penniless & unwed. Her background is indeed aristocratic, making for a perfect match of convenience. Frances's job is to train slaves as house servants. But when Frances meets Mehuru, a priest from an ancient & civilized African land, she learns about the conflicting desires of passion, love, & the vital need for freedom.
