A Respectable Trade (1998)
3.8 of 5 from 45 ratings
3h 41min
- General info
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- Synopsis:
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 (Ariyon Bakare). Bristol in 1787 is booming, from its stinking docks to its elegant new houses. Josiah Cole (Warren Clarke), 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 (Emma Fielding) 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. Among the slaves is the educated and charismatic Mehuru. Lonely in her new life married to a boorish and uneducated husband with whom she has little in common, Frances finds herself increasingly drawn to Mehuru and him to her. But tensions are mounting and Mehuru and the other slaves are prepared to risk everything for their freedom. - Actors:
- Ralph Brown, Richard Briers, Grahame Fox, Jenny Agutter, Simon Williams, Ariyon Bakare, Makaela Alexander, Doreen Andrew, Stephen Bent, Clinton Blake, Warren Clarke, Francis Crampsie, Cait Davis, Kaddy Faal, Emma Fielding, David Foxxe, Geoffrey Greenhill, Anna Massey, Paul McNeilly, Rachel Bisdee
- Directors:
- Suri Krishnamma
- Producers:
- Ruth Baumgarten, Michael Wearing, Ruth Caleb
- Writers:
- Philippa Gregory
- Genres:
- British TV, TV Dramas
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