"Take a fascinating step into the 11th century, discover the sugar trade and a merchant who spies for the church."
Gosh this a fascinating little book, I really did feel as though I was discovering a forgotten manuscript. Translators notes greet you at the start, advising that a complete text from the 11th century has been found and translated using cryptology. Thomas Woodward describes his life from 1066 when he was taken in after a raid and trained to become a spy, through to 1098 when he explains his life and the decisions he has made to his son. James Hutson-Wiley has created a simple diary-like discourse, Thomas describes the world around him, in particular, the trade of goods, including sugar, with clarity. Stuffed full of interesting tidbits I sank into this world and galloped through the pages. The Sugar Merchant surprised me, I thoroughly enjoyed my sojourn to the 11th century and found a fluid, absorbing and worthwhile read.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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When Thomas's family is annihilated in a raid, his life changes forever. Wandering for days, starving and hopeless, he is rescued by a monk and is taken to live at the abbey of Eynsham. There he receives a curious education, training to be a scholar, a merchant and a spy. His mission: to develop commerce in Muslim lands and dispatch vital information to the Holy See. His perilous adventures during the 11th century's commercial revolution will take him far from his cloistered life to the great trading cities of Almeria, Amalfi, Alexandria and Cairo. But the world in which he lives is chaotic. Struggling with love and loss, faith and fortune, can Thomas carry out his secret mission before conflict overtakes him? Spanning the tumultuous medieval worlds of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, The Sugar Merchant is a tale of clashing cultures, massive economic change and one man's determination to fulfil his destiny. The 11th century world through which Thomas Woodward travels is changing; marked by the emergence of a disruptive commercial revolution. In the Mediterranean, the great Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam meet, often in cooperation and peace but, at times, in bloody conflict. It is an era of migration, globalism and multiculturalism leading to a robust interchange of technology, ideas and the basic tools of international trade. But, the interests of the Christian west are on a collision course with those of the Muslim world. War is coming. The Church is rallying the nobles of Europe to embark on an `armed pilgrimage' to reclaim the Holy Land. Now, Thomas and his Muslim and Jewish partners' lucrative sugar trade is in jeopardy. Thomas's own secret and dangerous mission, directed from Rome, will become filled with even greater peril. The Sugar Merchant explores the massive cultural and economic change occurring in the later part of the 11th century through the eyes of a fictional participant, Thomas Woodward, and his Jewish and Muslim merchant partners. This turbulent period of history marked the creation of a European commercial economy based upon global trade and the birth of capitalism. New innovations in technology, finance, navigation and commercial organization were developed, often as a result of the robust exchange of knowledge between the Christian west and the Islamic east. Long-established political and social structures began a radical process of transformation, eventually leading to political, spiritual and physical conflict. Thomas is a witness to, and may become a victim of, this remarkable revolution.
The Sugar Merchant features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Action Adventure, Indie Books We Love, Fiction, Recommendations
The Sugar Merchant is available in Trade Paperback, Hardback
The Sugar Merchant was written by James Hutson-Wiley and published by New Generation Publishing
The Sugar Merchant has 378 pages
