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vasha's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Some general light shed on class relatons and sexual attitudes in 18th century London -- mostly a story of men behaving dreadfully and blaming it on women. It is also a geography of the rise and fall of Covent Garden and the rise of Mayfair. But above all, the very individual lives of the three main characters are the subject of this book and it is they who gave life to it, for me: switch off any judgemental part of your mind and you, too, can follow with pleasurable suspense the changing fortunes of Samuel Derrick and Charlotte Hayes. Only the third protagonist, Jack Harris/Harrison, remained a bit shadowy; the author several times called him "enigmatic" and could not find the source material to depict him to her satisfaction. Although this story is told with verve, it's really not as scholarly as I'd expected from an author who won a prestigious history prize for another work. I can't give it high marks for that reason.
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abortion
Minor: Child death, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Religious bigotry
ginnydw's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
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