THE SUGAR MERCHANT tells a story of Thomas Woodward, an orphan raised by the Benedictine monks to become a spy for Church. Disguised as a merchant, Thomas travels all over the Mediterranean, becoming wealthy by trading in an exotic new commodity – sugar.
THE SUGAR MERCHANT by James Hutson-Wiley is a historical novel set in a period after the Norman conquest of England and before the First Crusade. Through the eyes of the novel’s titular sugar merchant, the reader experiences both the splendor and the squalor of the late 11th century. Primarily taking place in the Mediterranean, THE SUGAR MERCHANT explores the rich and vibrant world of commerce spanning three continents and uniting three religions.
In his travels, Thomas befriends hedonistic, yet shrewd Muslim merchant Assad, and his cosmopolitan Jewish counterpart, Jusuf. Three of them set up a joint venture, introducing northern Europe to Al-Sukkar – sugar. As his wealth grows, Thomas also attracts enemies like the ruthless Venetian merchant Ordelafo da Molin. But Thomas’ world is ultimately threatened by the changing political climate in which the Turks start invading Muslim kingdoms while landless European knights prepare to conquer and plunder Jerusalem. The world of THE SUGAR MERCHANT represents a snapshot of a time just before the Crusades forever altered both the Christian and the Muslim worlds.
With THE SUGAR MERCHANT being such an epic story, it’s a shame that its leading character never really lives up to it. While characters like Assad or Thomas’ mentor, Brother Leofric, are colorful and interesting, Thomas himself pales in comparison. Although the novel follows Thomas throughout most of his life, we never really learn much about him. He is an honorable and capable man who, while sometimes torn between duty and avarice, always tries to do the right thing. That’s about it. Early in the story, Hutson-Wiley even introduces a subplot of Thomas falling in life with a Muslim girl, Zahra. But then he sets it aside for a hefty chunk of the novel, focusing instead on long, dry, repetitive descriptions of commerce and trade. So while THE SUGAR MERCHANT isn’t a perfect book, any proper history buff should find plenty in its pages to fascinate.
In his rich and epic tale, THE SUGAR MERCHANT, author James Hutson-Wiley not only demonstrates the peculiar origins of things we take for granted today, but he also illustrates how consequences of decisions made long ago continue to echo in our own present.
~Danijel Štriga for IndieReader