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The Quality of Mercy: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.05) - 225 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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 antislavery 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 …
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"Unsworth died this year (2012). Booker Prize aside, he was insufficiently regarded. He leaves a mighty oeuvre, including the magnificent Sacred Hunger, Morality Play and Land of Marvels. The Quality of Mercy, his last novel, is in the second rank of his works, but even these are brilliant (including Pascali's Island and The Song of the Kings). It's very nicely plotted - a page-turner. But there are bigger themes too: the role of women, industrialization, and the abolition of slavery. Unsworth's choice of characters and deft plotting allow a subtle reflection on these themes. As a minor note, the racism of the abolitionists, for example, comes as a surprise but is wholly believable."
— Derek (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Unsworth is one of the best historical novelists on either side of the Atlantic…His vast knowledge of eighteenth-century social and material conditions creates a rich and strange rendering of daily life that’s utterly persuasive.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Unsworth is one of the greatest living historical novelists, and this is what he does best: he entices us back into a past gloriously appointed with archival detail and moral complexity…[The Quality of Mercy] is another engaging demonstration of the talent that’s made Unsworth one of the very few writers to appear on the Booker shortlist three times. His sentences recall the sharp detail, moral sensitivity, and ready wit of Charles Dickens. But his sense of the lumbering, uneven gait of social progress is more sophisticated, more tempered, one might say, by history.”
— Washington Post -
“Deeply moving…Unsworth brings his characters together with authority and grace. As with all of his historical novels, he conveys the sights, sounds, and smells of life in another century without the slightest hint of pedantry.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Instantly compelling and impeccably written…Line by line, Unsworth is a vigorous and precise writer.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Told with bite and freshness. Unsworth, one of the most ingenious and varied of today’s British writers, makes his scenes not just vivid but microscopically vivid—we see not only their visible life but the invisible life that pulsates beneath. But what may be more remarkable is the creative subversion he works in his characters…Unsworth gives his figures glittering definition, and then leaves them open and undefined.”
— Boston Globe -
“Unsworth’s writing is as rich and authoritative as ever, his eye for the period detail as judicious.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Unsworth’s is a vigorous, clear-eyed approach to history, electrified by his complete feel for the period, his neat bathetic wit, and his natural gift for storytelling.”
— Telegraph (London) -
“Immediately involving and immensely readable.”
— Daily Mail (London) -
“Thought-provoking and resonant.”
— Denver Post -
“Wryly, and with Austenesque delicacy, Unsworth presents the intricacies of love, competition, and other timeless human emotions…Having invented his own brand of historical fiction, characterized by research, imagination, and a literate narrator equally adept at penetrating a society’s values or an individual’s heart, Unsworth creates a novel that works both as period piece and indictment of industrial capitalism…It succeeds in presenting a compelling picture of a transitional moment in English history, not to mention in the development of the English character.”
— Publishers Weekly
The Quality of Mercy Listener Reviews
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" Excellent follow up to Sacred Hunger. Not as good as the the 1st, some of the plot lines too contrived, but that's only relative to SH. "
— David, 2/16/2014 -
" Dit boek is het vervolg op "Sacred hunger" waarmee Unsworth 20 jaar geleden de Booker prijs won. Dat is een erg goed boek en dit vervolg, hoewel veel korter, is minstens zo goed. Het lijkt mij moeilijk om dit beok te begrijpen, als je het eerste niet gelezen hebt. Het gaat uiteindelijk over de slavernij, de morele en juridische aspecten. In het tweeede boek wordt ook aandacht besteed aan de onmenselijke omstandigehden in de kolenmijnen van die tijd. Het klinkt allemaal wat moralistisch, maar Unsworth weet zijn hoofdpersonen heel menselijk en interessant te maken en schrijft ook nog gewoon een spannend verhaal. "
— Riet, 1/30/2014 -
" This sequel to Sacred Hunger continues the conflict of the slave-ship owner and the surviving members of his mutinous crew now hauled back to England to stand trial for their lives. New characters and story lines involve the abolitionist movement in Britain and the coal mining industry in small collieries in northeast England. Although perhaps not quite as stunning as the first book, it's a great read. "
— Marge, 1/17/2014 -
" This book tied up the story as left in Sacred Hunger. Some critics had complained that Unsworth attempted to redeem Erasmus Kemp through a romantic interest. I am not sure I fully concur. The story was good, the moralizing about slavery remained the focus, as it was in Sacred Hunger. "
— Hazel, 1/16/2014 -
" Meticulously plotted, intelligent, informative and very enjoyable. But it isn't Sacred Hunger - somehow lacking the boldness and challenge presented by the first book. "
— Stephen, 1/3/2014 -
" Elegantly written with much food for thought - this is historical fiction at its best. "
— Lauren, 12/23/2013 -
" HB -- It was a pirate like story about slave ships / mercy and corruption. Adventure. "
— Irene, 12/18/2013 -
" A wonderful follow-up to Sacred Hunger. Unsworth's characters survive ordeals and grow in their humanity. "
— Janice, 12/1/2013 -
" A book that explored the motivations between each character's decisions. Characters compelling, but the end felt rushed. "
— Cara, 9/17/2013 -
" As a historical novel it was interesting. It was interesting to learn about the slave trade in England in the 1700's. I also enjoyed learning about the culture at that time and about mining coal. While it kept me reading, it was not compeling reading. "
— Phyllis, 7/28/2013 -
" Very well written and accurate historical portrayal of the slave trade, coal mining, and class system in England. "
— Debra, 4/9/2013 -
" I didn't realize this was a sequel. Good story. Liked it more than I thought I would. Maybe not enough to seek out the first book. "
— Barbara, 2/18/2013 -
" I didn't like this novel as much as I liked "Sacred Hunger." The characters are not as compelling. The narrative is as good, and the writing is excellent. "
— Barbara, 1/14/2013 -
" An excellent read. Another 100 pages to tidy things up would have been appreciated. In any case, Unsworth's descriptions of politics, justice, and capitalistic exploitation, and the characters he created to show opposing views in mid 18th century England makes for a captivating read. "
— Marvin, 11/18/2012 -
" Wow. Writing that never fails to impress and excellent characters. Beautiful. "
— Monica, 9/11/2012 -
" It was like 2 books in one. The part about slaves and the law in England was slow and I had to skim it to get to the other interesting story line. Glad I finished but I can't recommend. "
— Ann, 7/25/2012 -
" A worthy sequel to "Sacred Hunger". I recommend the audiobook narrated by the sublime David Rintoul. "
— Julie, 6/6/2012
About Barry Unsworth
Barry Unsworth (1930–2012) was a British novelist who wrote historical fiction. He won the Booker Prize with Sacred Hunger and was shortlisted for Pascali’s Island and Morality Play. He published seventeen novels to critical acclaim.
About David Rintoul
David Rintoul, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a stage and television actor from Scotland. A former student of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he has worked extensively with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has also appeared regularly on BBC television, starring as Mr. Darcy in the 1980 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and as Doctor Finlay in the television series of the same name.