Respectable Trade

• Director: Suri Krishnamma
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Romantic Drama, Period Film
• Themes: Social Injustice, Interracial/Cross-Cultural Romance, Infidelity
• Release Year: 1998
• Run Time: 240 minutes

Plot

Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory, the British miniseries A Respectable Trade was what is known in the business as a "bodice ripper." The story began in 1788, when well-bred governess Frances Scott (Emma Fielding) married her rough-hewn employer Josiah Cole (Warren Clarke). It didn't take long for Frances to become disgusted by the fact that her husband was in the slave-trading profession, and to take steps to get him out of the filthy business. Complicating matters was Frances' ever-increasing attraction to one of Josiah's "possessions," a handsome and cultured African slave named Mehuru (Ariyon Bakare). First broadcast over the BBC on April 19, 1998, the four-part A Respectable Trade was telecast in America as part of PBS Masterpiece Theatre anthology, beginning on October 25 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Jenny Agutter; Warren Clarke - Joshiah Cole; Anna Massey; Emma Fielding - Frances Scott; Ariyon Bakare - Mehuru

Credit

Suri Krishnamma - Director, Ruth Caleb - Executive Producer, Kevin Menton - Executive Producer, Nigel Warren-Green - Executive Producer, Julian Nott - Composer (Music Score), Ruth Baumgarten - Producer, Philippa Gregory - Screenwriter, Philippa Gregory - Book Author