Series
Publication
Original publication date
Collections
Awards
Description
Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML: Barry Unsworth returns to the terrain of his Booker Prize-winning novel Sacred Hunger, this time following Sullivan, the Irish fiddler, and Erasmus Kemp, son of a Liverpool slave ship owner who hanged himself. It is the spring of 1767, and to avenge his father's death, Erasmus Kemp has had the rebellious sailors of his father's ship, including Sullivan, brought back to London to stand trial on charges of mutiny and piracy. But as the novel opens, a blithe Sullivan has escaped and is making his way on foot to the north of England, stealing as he goes and sleeping where he can. His destination is Thorpe in the East Durham coalfields, where his dead shipmate, Billy Blair, lived: he has pledged to tell the family how Billy met his end. In this village, Billy's sister, Nan, and her miner husband, James Bordon, live with their three sons, all destined to follow their father down the pit. The youngest, only seven, is enjoying his last summer aboveground. Meanwhile, in London, a passionate anti-slavery campaigner, Frederick Ashton, gets involved in a second case relating to the lost ship. Erasmus Kemp wants compensation for the cargo of sick slaves who were thrown overboard to drown, and Ashton is representing the insurers who dispute his claim. Despite their polarized views on slavery, Ashton's beautiful sister, Jane, encounters Erasmus Kemp and finds herself powerfully attracted to him. Lord Spenton, who owns coal mines in East-Durham, has extravagant habits and is pressed for money. When he applies to the Kemp merchant bank for a loan, Erasmus sees a business opportunity of the kind he has long been hoping for, a way of gaining entry into Britain's rapidly developing and highly profitable coal and steel industries. Thus he too makes his way north, to the very same village that Sullivan is heading for . . . With historical sweep and deep pathos, Unsworth explores the struggles of the powerless and the captive against the rich and the powerful, and what weight mercy may throw on the scales of justice..… (more)
User reviews
It is 1767. Erasmus Kemp, a wealthy Liverpool merchant, has tracked down the seamen who mutinied against the captain of his father's
Meanwhile, in the Durham mining village of Thorpe, James Borden, the brother-in-law of Billy Blair, makes his living as a miner together with his two eldest sons. Only the youngest son Percy, not quite seven years of age, is still able to spend his days in play. But his childhood will soon end, for at seven boys go down the pit. And when Erasmus Kemp develops a business interests in the profitable Durham coalfield, as well as a romantic interest in the sister of Frederick Ashton, the strands of the story all start to come together...
This is a great historical novel which puts its subject in context, and delivers complex and well-rounded characters. Definitely recommended, but read Sacred Hunger first, which is even better.
Two trials are the result of the ship's disappearance. First, Erasmus Kemp is suing for the loss of property (the slaves aboard) which the insurance company would pay if the slaves were thrown overboard due to the fact there wasn't enough water to sustain the crew and cargo. If the slaves, however, are not considered property and are considered as human life, the crew would be guilty of murder. The cases has aroused much interest throughout the city. Does a slave become free if he is in England which prohibits slavery or is he still considered the property of his owner who brought him there.
Jane Ashton meets Erasmus through social circles and they become attracted to each other in spite of the differences in their positions on slavery.
The book is interesting, the characters believable, and the ending is perfect. Each character is required at some time to show or not show some quality of mercy.
The character of Sullivan is especially interesting as he eventually lands in coal mining country where the lives of the miners is so harsh. A young miner wins a handball contest much to the delight of the mine owner. Erasmus becomes involved in the mining industry. The plot is tightly intertwined yet very believable. Loved the book.