• Trade Wind

  • By: M. M. Kaye
  • Narrated by: Karen Chilton
  • Length: 27 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (106 ratings)

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Trade Wind  By  cover art

Trade Wind

By: M. M. Kaye
Narrated by: Karen Chilton
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Publisher's summary

The scene is teeming Zanzibar just before the American Civil War, when the Isle of Cloves was a center of African slave trade. To it comes Hero Athena Hollis, a Boston bluestocking filled with self-righteousness and bent on good deeds.

Then she meets Rory Frost, a cynical, wicked, shrewd and good-humored trader in slaves. What is Hero to make of him (and of her feelings for him)?

©1963, 1981 M.M. Kaye (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Tightly plotted, crammed with detail and irresistibly romantic." ( Cosmopolitan)

What listeners say about Trade Wind

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Performance
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Story
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Story, Beautiful Writing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, all the writing by M.M. Kaye is classic, articulate, well-written, engaging.

What did you like best about this story?

The unique plot. Unfortunately, the cover art here, as well as the blurb, portrays the book as a bodice-ripper, which it absolutely is not. It's very well written historical fiction. The characters are developed well, the plot is intriguing, and the writing is top-notch.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Anytime an accent is called for, be is English, Irish, Scottish, whatever, the narrator does it in a Caribbean-Jamaican lilt. It's off-putting. Also, she mispronounces words that were common to the time, such as "blackguard." It's "blaggard," not "Black Guard." Her voice is pleasant, though.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epic historical novel.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The reader.

What other book might you compare Trade Wind to and why?

Shadow of the Moon and Far Pavilions - by the same author. They each teach us something about actual events, but add the element of personal drama. The stories make me want to research what actually happened in those places long ago.

What didn’t you like about Karen Chilton’s performance?

She gave the main male character -- an intelligent British rogue -- a wimpy southern drawl. He was definitely NOT from Britain, and definitely not the character the author created. The disconnect almost made me stop listening to the story. But I liked the book too much (I've read it many times) to do that.

Any additional comments?

I've always enjoyed this story and all of MM Kaye's historical novels. I'm sad that the reader made it so cumbersome to get through. If there was another reader, I'd trade this version in to try him/her.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

read this book over and over and love it every tim

wonderful diverse characters in a unique setting at a time of transition in the world. The speakers mispronounciation of so many words was a distraction and everyone sounded Jamaican but the story makes up for the performance.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

story is terrific, narrator terrible

great book, wonderful story. Narration is bad, accents are inconsistent, gets a lot of words wrong, one error is self corrected by the reader, but got through editing .
in spite of the reader, I highly reccomend this book. You will love it

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

MMKAYE Is a favorite author.

rereading this book is a wonderful return to Ms. Kayes work. The reader was atrocious.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Opposite of Bad Reviews

The book was performed well, enough happened to keep me interested, and it ended how I wanted it to. I am therefore completely satisfied with the time I invested in listening to this audiobook, Trade Wind. Especially if you enjoy M.M. Kaye, you should listen to this! My only criticism is the absence of description of romantic events between the main characters, which are only implied by after effects and incredibly brief retrospective. Regardless, I still enjoyed it!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Narration

this book should have been narrated by someone who could do accents. since she couldn't she shouldn't have tried

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ended too soon.

Great story. It's really only about the tale, isn't it? I listened at 1.50 speed and that took care of most of the mechanics that were bothersome.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldnt finish it due to the narration.

Please don't waste your credit. Poor pronunciation and inflection. I really enjoyed The Far Pavillions.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, average reader.

I have read this book many times over 35 years. M M Kaye is such a great story teller and because I too have lived in, and traveled to some of the places that she writes about I know how accurate her descriptions are. I have not been on Zanzibar, but I have read other stories of East Africa and the history of the region, and Trade Wind fits in well to what I know. My one concern was the reader. While I’m sure she would be good for other stories, she did not have good accents for the British or Arab voices. Her accent for the French voice was good. But both her accents and her mispronunciation of certain Arab names and places grated on my ears. But I would listen to it again!

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1 person found this helpful