eShop USA > Books > Slammerkin
Slammerkin
List Price: $15.00Our Price: $10.20 You Save: $4.80 (32%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780156007474
ISBN: 0156007479
Label: Harvest Books
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 408
Publication Date: May 01, 2002
Publisher: Harvest Books
Studio: Harvest Books
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
Born to rough cloth in working-class London in 1748, Mary Saunders hungers for linen and lace. Her lust for a shiny red ribbon leads her to a life of prostitution at a young age, where she encounters a freedom unknown to virtuous young women. But a dangerous misstep sends her fleeing to Monmouth and the refuge of the middle-class household of Mrs. Jones, to become the seamstress her mother always expected her to be and to live the ordinary life of an ordinary girl. Although Mary becomes a close confidante of Mrs. Jones, her desire for a better life leads her back to prostitution. She remains true only to the three rules she learned on the streets of London: Never give up your liberty; Clothes make the woman; Clothes are the greatest lie ever told. In the end, it is clothes, their splendor and their deception, that lead Mary to disaster.
Emma Donoghue's daring, sensually charged prose casts a new sheen on the squalor and glamour of eighteenth-century England. Accurate, masterfully written, and infused with themes that still bedevil us today, Slammerkin is historical fiction for all readers.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Fascinating bit of fiction
I saw this book on several Listmania's, and still wasn't very interested in it. But on a whim, I added it to my wishlist and checked it out of my library. Well.
Mary Saunders owns nothing of any color- and therefore lusts after a bright, shining ribbon she sees woven through a whore's silvery hair. Her lust causes her to trade sex for such a ribbon, and when her mother discovers Mary is pregnant, she throws Mary out of the house. Rescued by the same whore (named Doll) whose ribbon led Mary ... Read More
Rating:  - Unique historical fiction
Do yourself a favor and read this book. As an academic specializing in Regency period literature, I find Donoghue's descriptions of 19th century London flawless and her storytelling ability top notch. This is a unique story of a poor, young woman navigating through London and its environs, utilizing all the opportunities (or lack thereof) offered to someone of her class. In the end, you will wonder if she is truly responsible for the choices she has made. This would make an excellent book group ... Read More
Rating: - Something to think about...
I thought that this book was really great. When I thought that nothing else bad could happen to Mary it did. At the begining of the book I was a little shocked as to how graphic it got but it showed the reality to things in those days. I really enjoyed this book very much. Many people didn't like the graphic nature of it but I found it very interesting and a page turner! AMAZING!
Rating:  - Perplexing Characters
I finished reading this book a couple of days ago and it is still sticking with me. I guess I'm not finished with this subject because there are some things about this book that just don't make sense to me.
The book cover is of course regrettable. The picture of a lustful young woman makes anyone unacquainted with the story think it is a romance or, from the picture and title, some kind of porn. I was careful not to let too many people see it when I was reading it, because I didn't want ... Read More
Rating: - MARY...MARY...QUITE CONTRARY...
This is a well written, artfully told tale of a young, working class, teenage girl, Mary Saunders, in eighteenth century London, England, who, through a moment's exercise in bad judgment, finds herself turned out of the only home she has ever known by her own mother. Her desperation to survive sees her ushered into a life of prostitution and servitude. Based upon the actual, brief but notorious, life of a certain Mary Saunders, a servant girl who killed her mistress and was executed for her crime in ... Read More
Related Categories:
|
