The Quality of Mercy - by Barry Unsworth

I approached this book with slight trepidation, as it appeared to be a "serious" novel set in the late 18th Century. I feared that it would be tough going. The first third of the book was, I found, a little hard, but I persevered. At that point, I was into the story and motivated to continue.

There are a number of inter-related threads in different locations and the story is told from a number of characters' points of view. I was worried about the thread that takes place in the mining village, as the characters speak in dialect, which can be hard to understand. But this is not over-done and my fears were unfounded.

The story progresses well and kept me turning the pages. In the process a number of aspects of life at that time are considered: notably the slave trade [and its possible abolition], the fate of miners and the differing courtship rituals of the upper and lower classes.

With any novel, I feel a need to be able to trust the integrity of the author. In this case, I feel reasonably confident that I have learned something about England in the late 18th Century.