Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 An angry book which still sustains the 'us' and 'them' November 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is, rightfully, an angry book that uncovers the British slave-trade and the inhumanities upon which empire is built. Gregory is clearly incensed, both politically and personally, about this hidden history and uncovers the ignorance and 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 and didactic stance. Characters became representatives of political view-points: the ambitious lower-middle class tradesman determined to rise socially; his bitter and inhumane sister; the wife sold into a different type of slavery and yet unwilling to set herself free, and the noble, good, humane black slaves...
... and here is the crux of the problem: Gregory allows herself to fall into the trap of inverting and so sustaining the racial differences that allow slavery in 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 and dance and an instinctive feeling for the earth and nature - the opposite of most of the white characters. And so rather than breaking down barriers and finding a common humanity between both groups where people are a mix of good and bad, selfish and giving regardless of their skin colour, Gregory insidiously (and I would guess unintentionally) maintains the difference, sustaining the `us' and `them', even if `we' are on the sides of the slaves.
This is a flaw in other novels I have read about slavery: Diana Norman's A Catch of Consequence, and Jane Stevenson's Astraea trilogy come to mind. By making the black characters completely morally and ethically `white', the structures of racial difference are not collapsed but actively re-built and 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), and still not like `us' (whoever `we' might be...)
So, overall, this is a brave novel, heartfelt and with good intentions, but ultimately, for me, an unsettling one in ways the author probably didn't intend.
 Wonderful book, but... December 20, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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 and 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 is in A1 condition.) A huge disappointment!
If you are picking up a second hand copy, avoid ISBN 0 00 647337 7 published in 1996.
powerful November 21, 2007
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
This novel by Philippa Gregory takes a look at the slave trade in the period leading up to the abolition.
It tells the story of Mahuru, a high priest taken as a slave, and 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, and to Francis falls the task of teaching them English customs.
The characterisation in 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 drilled in to her since childhood, and her growing empathy with those she must teach. Philippa Gregory handles this with skill, and 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 and 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 and thorough painstaking research. I was quite moved to tears by the end.
A haunting novel well worth reading and rereading.
A vivid depiction of a historical tragedy July 4, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
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 and 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 and 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 superficial in her thinking and even hypocritical.
She wanted to have it all: wealth, status, and empty aristocratic titles. Then she sought love and lust from the very people she enslaved and stripped from basic human rights including the right to have non-English names; and 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 and wisdom and the speed with which he excelled in their language.
He drew strength from the memories of his homeland. He drew warmth from the bright sun shining in the sky of his hometown while suffering the dark clouds of his new life.
From the back cover.... April 5, 2007
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
Josiah Cole is a small dockside trader in 1787 Bristol -- a city where power and 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 and 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 and civilized African land, she learns about the conflicting desires of passion, love, and the vital need for freedom.
|
