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A Respectable Trade

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A Respectable Trade

By: Philippa Gregory
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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About this listen

From the bestselling author of The Other Boleyn Girl.

Bristol in 1787 is booming, from its stinking docks to its elegant new houses. Josiah Cole, a small dockside trader, is prepared to gamble everything to join the big players of the city. But he needs ready cash and a well-connected wife.

An arranged marriage to Frances Scott is a mutually convenient solution. Trading her social contacts for Josiah’s protection, Frances enters the world of the Bristol merchants and finds her life and fortune dependent on the respectable trade of sugar, rum and slaves.

Once again Philippa Gregory brings her unique combination of a vivid sense of history and inimitable storytelling skills to illuminate a complex period of our past. Powerful, haunting, intensely disturbing, this is a novel of desire and shame, of individuals, of a society, and of a whole continent devastated by the greed of others.

©1995 Philippa Gregory (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Romance Marriage Heartfelt Tear-jerking
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What listeners say about A Respectable Trade

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Enlightening

The narrator brings this story to another level, bringing a wonderful story to life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

You never stop learning

Great insight into slave trade at height of British wealth, still shocking & heartbreaking, with good characters and insight into all sides of life in 18th C

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Andoh's performance is equisite.

It's a fascinating book and I enjoyed it thoroughly, particularly as I have just moved to Bristol.
What is especially good though is Adjoa Andohs.s stunning narration, so rich, nuanced and such a range of well wrought characters . I've listened to circ 20 books so I'm a relative newbie but this is by far the best audible performance (and it is a performance no question) that I have listened to. Anyway, well worth a listen!

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wonderful yet heartbreaking story

I nearly stopped listening in the middle of Chaptet 2 because the story of capturing Africans in the 1700s me cry. I'm glad I carried on though. Yes it was a sad story but it (and the performance) drew me in so much

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Beautifully read, really gripping story

Striking story, very suspenseful: Bristol felt like a character. I did want to shake Frances at times though. The presentation of changing attitudes in the context of that period made me want to read more on the topic

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Insitful and compassionate look at slave trade in the 1700's

Though melodramatic and heavy-handed in places, the novel works. If I could use only one work of fiction to explain the evils of trading in people, it might well be this one.

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Slave trade

excellent book, very enlightening. well read.
Captivating story. Was captivated. Good portrayal of the slave trade.

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    4 out of 5 stars

exciting tale of love in a hopeless place

Set in Bristol at the time of the slave trade, this story brings to life an era which still has its impact today. Reminiscent of Charles Dickens in the way that its characters reveal the hypocrisy and snobbery of the day, this historical drama is one not to miss.

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Powerful and captivating

Such a wonderful story teller. The book is spellbinding not because of the story’s complexity but for the strength of its narrative form

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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amazing book and amazing narrating

. I learnt so much from so many different perspectives and felt so much emotion, sadness hope and happiness. a rich story I would recommend anyone to listen to to truly gain a multifaceted view not only on the slave trade but also on the perils of the longing for more.

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