Bristol, England - 1787

Frances Scott, daughter of a minister and niece of a lord, has few options at age thirty-five. With her father dead and no husband to care for her, Frances has replied to an advertisement for a governess. Her arrival on the docks of the bustling port of Bristol reveals to her a city where merchants rule. Her interview with Josiah Cole ends in a way Frances would never have dreamed. Rather than be a governess, he asks her to marry him. Knowing she has little choice in the matter, and preferring to be a wife than a governess, she agrees.

Josiah needs status. He already owns three ships and spends every waking hour working the docks, looking for financial backers, partners, and any way he can to keep his business functioning. With his unmarried sister caring for the company's books, and options for a new, possibly more lucrative trade to add to his sugar and rum shipping business, Josiah just needs one more thing...a wife with a higher social status so that he can move away from the docks and into the neighborhood of his dreams.

Frances discovers immediately that Sarah, Josiah's sister, doesn't have the same dreams that her brother has. All Sarah wants is to keep the business viable and not to lose any ships in transit. She also isn't pleased to share the books and the apartment over the warehouse with Frances. However, the new plan to ship slaves from Africa, educate them, and sell them to the wealthy, forces Sarah to accept Frances -- who will be the one to teach the slaves English and manners. But upon the arrival of the first group of slaves, Frances realizes that not only is her job overwhelming, but her previous feelings for slavery are completely changed. Sarah refers to the Africans as "not human," but Frances knows differently.

Mehuru was a respected priest in his country. Now, after his sudden captivity and horrid sea voyage, he is living a nightmare in the dockside home of the Coles. The pale woman who is trying to communicate with him and his fellow slaves seems as bewildered as he is. How can he convince her that all he wants is his freedom? And does he know that that is all that she wants?

Few know of the impact the British had on procuring and shipping slaves to the Americas, and even fewer know about slaves in Britain itself. This often heartrending, brutally descriptive tale of this shameful period is graphically presented in this amazing novel. A RESPECTABLE TRADE, as we know, is anything but respectable. But it is the growing awareness of humanity and, yes, respect, between Frances and Mehuru that is the core of this story. Both are prisoners in this world, and how they deal with this life is an incredible journey.

Frances grows from a quiet, amiable woman to a forceful influence as her feelings grow for a man she can never openly love. And Mehuru, strong, intuitive, and ultimately brave, will stand out as the amazing hero.

This isn't an easy book to read. The vivid descriptions of the sea journey and the cruelty inflicted upon the slaves are difficult to absorb, or to understand how humans can treat other humans so despicably. Ms. Gregory brings the entire scenario to life in this tale and her story, at times, is both poignant and uplifting.

Well researched and beautifully written, A RESPECTABLE TRADE will demand your attention from the first page. The book has also been made into a BBC production.

Jani Brooks