Trade Wind

By: M. M. Kaye

Narrated by: Karen Chilton

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)

MMKAYE Is a favorite author.

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

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.

Disappointing

I enjoyed “The Far Pavilions” but found “Trade Winds” an inferior book. The pace was too slow for me. The reader had a pleasant voice but had trouble pronouncing words correctly. The worst was substituting Ts for Ds such as saying Etwart for Edward. She could probably be coached.

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.

Good book, terrible reader

I was excited to see Audible version of book I had read and enjoyed many many years ago. This reader was awful, especially for book requiring many accents. The only accent she could produce was Jamaican. Upper class English? Jamaican. Cockney? French? Jamaican. Mispronounced words constantly interrupted my train of listening. Arabic words and names were quite hashed. And ssllooww. I finally put it on 1.25 speed for a major improvement. I will be careful to not get a book read by this actor in future.