The Sugar Merchant
by James Hutson-Wiley
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Oct 24 2018 | Archive Date Dec 03 2020
BooksGoSocial | New Generation Publishing
Talking about this book? Use #TheSugarMerchant #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
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
Advance Praise
....The Sugar Merchant by James Hutson-Wiley is a deep novel covering many subjects that are relevant to today’s world, including multiculturalism, innovations in technology and commerce, and immigration. Reading this novel, it's very easy to draw parallels between this time period and the current times we live in – there really isn’t so much difference! It is a well-written novel, brought fully alive by the descriptive style of writing that draws the reader skillfully into the story. It is well paced with plenty of action and with characters that are incredibly well developed to the extent that you feel as if you know them personally. Reading it was like being pulled straight back to the 11th century, seeing it in vivid color and experiencing life as it was then. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the sequel.
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781789553208 |
| PRICE | $2.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 378 |
Links
Featured Reviews
Mystica V, Reviewer
A 11th century story has to be I thought a bit slow, interesting but slow.
This proved me wrong.
Thomas lost his entire family in a raid. Through sheer doggedness and good luck he ended up with a monk who took him back to his monastery, and became the father he had lost and the monastery became the family he wanted. A bright spark, he took to learning, academic as well as others and the senior monks ear marked him for a future far away from rural Eynsham.
Entering into a world of trade, totally unknown to him the adventures of Thomas were myriad and wide. Encountering Jews and Muslims he befriends both communities, establishes a profitable commercial venture/s, marries a Muslim despite a fatwa against it and becomes a person of stature in the Islamic world he embraces.
The story was fascinating, fast paced and held my interest throughout. For those who like history it provided enough, it was also a personal story of rags to riches and this enthralled me as well.
Flo J, Educator
What a clever tale ! I will strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest for the years 1000-1100, when all began for international commerce as we know it today. this is one aspect of the book. the other matter is how networks of spies were used for political and religious affairs. But this is not a complete vision without the trading of knowledge and the possible friendship of men, whatever their beliefs. Don't be taken back by all these problematic contexts. The story unfold as a diary, with lots of fights, suspens, drama and emotional episodes. you'll be transported to other times when people were discovering new spices, materials and food, with exotic names. ( go to the book at the end of the book to identify places and food). I will recommend this book to my students learning business English, it is vital for them to discover that not so many things are changing. I won't say which ones to avoid spoilers.
I saw that in 2020 the author published book number 2, can't wait to read it.
I got a copy from NetGalley, all opinions are mine.
theresa h, Educator
The Sugar Merchant
by James Hutson-Wiley
This is an amazing historical story that shows the nature of trade in the middle ages. It starts in 1066, with the raid of Flanders. The book details how relationships between Islam and Jewish, and Christians. The book shows the import of the sugar and silk into England because of trade.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
