Book Review
Dec. 24th, 2023 07:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariSlammerkin
by Emma Donoghue
This historical novel takes a look at the plight of poor, working class women in 1760s England., Mary Saunders is the daughter of a poor seamstress and coal seller. when she falls pregnant as the result of an assault, her mother throws her out and she must make her own way on the streets of London. Mary is taken in by a prostitute and takes up the profession herself, as the easiest and fastest way to make money and fulfill her desire for fine clothes. For a time, she enjoys the pleasures of the city and the relative liberty prostitution allows. When she finds herself in trouble with some dangerous people, Mary flees to Monmouth and becomes a servant and apprentice dressmaker to the Jones family. However, her desire for independence drives her back to her former profession and on the path to a shocking and tragic end.
This story of the lower classes in Georgian England was lively and interesting. Mary could be a frustrating characters however. I liked her resilience and desire for independence, but she made several bad choices and almost willfully blows up her life in the last half of the book. It was a bit hard to watch her take some actions when a better alternative was available. I did like the way Donoghue contrasts the degree and type of liberty, independence, and security available to prostitutes and servants.
by Emma Donoghue
This historical novel takes a look at the plight of poor, working class women in 1760s England., Mary Saunders is the daughter of a poor seamstress and coal seller. when she falls pregnant as the result of an assault, her mother throws her out and she must make her own way on the streets of London. Mary is taken in by a prostitute and takes up the profession herself, as the easiest and fastest way to make money and fulfill her desire for fine clothes. For a time, she enjoys the pleasures of the city and the relative liberty prostitution allows. When she finds herself in trouble with some dangerous people, Mary flees to Monmouth and becomes a servant and apprentice dressmaker to the Jones family. However, her desire for independence drives her back to her former profession and on the path to a shocking and tragic end.
This story of the lower classes in Georgian England was lively and interesting. Mary could be a frustrating characters however. I liked her resilience and desire for independence, but she made several bad choices and almost willfully blows up her life in the last half of the book. It was a bit hard to watch her take some actions when a better alternative was available. I did like the way Donoghue contrasts the degree and type of liberty, independence, and security available to prostitutes and servants.
