Tring Book Club; The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

I persevered as this was a book club choice, otherwise I would have given up a lot earlier. Novels about slavery are not what I want to read. I agreed with one reviewer who said "While there are things about it that I really appreciate, I cant say I actually enjoyed reading it. Which is what I want from a book". 

There was some good stuff about Frannie's relationships with her "employers" in Jamaica and London. Although I find it hard to read about slavery in any of it's forms. I acknowledge that the writing is intelligent, captivating and highly researched, but for me that is never enough. It all seemed quite strange and sordid. There was never any light to soften the darkness. 

All the male characters are pretty awful. At a dinner for Langton, he is asked "Are you enjoying your trip?" He replies "trying to persuade old friends to behave like friends". I  found that the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 paid out the equivalent of billions of pounds, not to the slaves but to the owners who continued with "apprenticeships" for the black labour, for little or no pay.  The anger shows through the writing.