Review of Cloth
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Rajnee Varma
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Review of Cloth
[Following is a volunteer review of "Cloth" by Elizabeth Anderson.]
Cloth is a non-fiction book by Elizabeth Anderson. As the title implies, the main theme of the book is the story of John Grant and his family about the cotton trade in the late 1700s and early 1800s. John Grant, born in 1769 in Scotland, was the son of Alexander Grant, a teacher for the Scottish Society for Propagation of Christian Knowledge. John started as an apprentice to a merchant friend of his father and then served in an English regiment in the French wars. On returning, he married and started a family and then moved to Glasgow. Due to unfavorable conditions in the trade, he immigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia. His life story in America as a merchant is remarkably informative and interesting.
The book is based on the information gathered from family letters, newspaper articles, journals, and government documents. It is a speculative narration that focuses more on facts and incidents rather than emotions. There are some gaps in the family letters, and the author has tried to fill in the story with speculation. The writing is simple in easy-to-understand language and full of historical facts and information about several topics that affected the lives of John and his immediate and extended families. The elaborate and vivid word sketches of various towns, the family life of John’s childhood days, living conditions in Philadelphia, a lack of sanitation, and poor living conditions take the reader into history.
The author has effectively described the history of cloth making from hemp and flax, the discovery of cotton cloth from India and its superiority, and the development of the Indian cloth trade. The book also features the role of slave labor in society, the efforts of the Presbyterian Church to spread the teachings of the Bible and the English language to Gaelic-speaking Catholic people, the effects of wars between America and Britain on the cloth trade, and the loss of lives due to malaria and yellow fever. The trend of growing cotton and abandoning food crops led to a scarcity of food, causing famine in Scotland, and the shipment of goods faced difficulties due to political conflicts. The book gives an insight into the socio-economical-political conditions, the industrial revolution, and how the cloth trade affected individuals, families, and the world in general. The information about the slave trade, child labor, the ban on slavery, and the American laws regarding property, women, and intestate deaths gives a deep understanding of the social structure of America.
The sketches, maps, photographs, and family trees are very helpful in understanding the context, the background, and the history. The author has also discussed the descendants of John Grant and his family, both in Scotland and America, and how they fare today. There is nothing to dislike about the book, and there is nothing negative in it. It does not contain any mature content, profanity, or scenes of violence. There is no reason to rate it less than perfect. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
This is an excellent book on the history of the cloth trade and the family history of John Grant. It is worth mentioning here that the author herself is linked to the family. Several links and websites are mentioned in the book that will help the readers interested in genealogy and searching for a link to the family. I would recommend the book to readers who like historical books based on facts.
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Cloth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Cloth is a non-fiction book by Elizabeth Anderson. As the title implies, the main theme of the book is the story of John Grant and his family about the cotton trade in the late 1700s and early 1800s. John Grant, born in 1769 in Scotland, was the son of Alexander Grant, a teacher for the Scottish Society for Propagation of Christian Knowledge. John started as an apprentice to a merchant friend of his father and then served in an English regiment in the French wars. On returning, he married and started a family and then moved to Glasgow. Due to unfavorable conditions in the trade, he immigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia. His life story in America as a merchant is remarkably informative and interesting.
The book is based on the information gathered from family letters, newspaper articles, journals, and government documents. It is a speculative narration that focuses more on facts and incidents rather than emotions. There are some gaps in the family letters, and the author has tried to fill in the story with speculation. The writing is simple in easy-to-understand language and full of historical facts and information about several topics that affected the lives of John and his immediate and extended families. The elaborate and vivid word sketches of various towns, the family life of John’s childhood days, living conditions in Philadelphia, a lack of sanitation, and poor living conditions take the reader into history.
The author has effectively described the history of cloth making from hemp and flax, the discovery of cotton cloth from India and its superiority, and the development of the Indian cloth trade. The book also features the role of slave labor in society, the efforts of the Presbyterian Church to spread the teachings of the Bible and the English language to Gaelic-speaking Catholic people, the effects of wars between America and Britain on the cloth trade, and the loss of lives due to malaria and yellow fever. The trend of growing cotton and abandoning food crops led to a scarcity of food, causing famine in Scotland, and the shipment of goods faced difficulties due to political conflicts. The book gives an insight into the socio-economical-political conditions, the industrial revolution, and how the cloth trade affected individuals, families, and the world in general. The information about the slave trade, child labor, the ban on slavery, and the American laws regarding property, women, and intestate deaths gives a deep understanding of the social structure of America.
The sketches, maps, photographs, and family trees are very helpful in understanding the context, the background, and the history. The author has also discussed the descendants of John Grant and his family, both in Scotland and America, and how they fare today. There is nothing to dislike about the book, and there is nothing negative in it. It does not contain any mature content, profanity, or scenes of violence. There is no reason to rate it less than perfect. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
This is an excellent book on the history of the cloth trade and the family history of John Grant. It is worth mentioning here that the author herself is linked to the family. Several links and websites are mentioned in the book that will help the readers interested in genealogy and searching for a link to the family. I would recommend the book to readers who like historical books based on facts.
******
Cloth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Inside Passage: by Burt Weissbourd
