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A review by humphreads
The Covent Garden Ladies by Hallie Rubenhold
4.0
A book on history? That you enjoyed? Are you feeling okay. Yes, I am, thank you. The reason for this shock is that there’s only one type of history book which I enjoy, and that is history books about sex. Genuinely.
As you could guess from the title, this book is about the Covent Garden Ladies. These ladies are the known sex workers of the area which Harris and Derrick detailed in a pocket book in 1759. This book spread the women to avoid, the women to seek, those who specialised in certain things.
Historian Hallie Rubenhold, who also wrote The Five, provides a crisp overview of this. This is absolutely not some dry textbook Source A shit that you’d have to analyse in your history exam. This is a fun and full of life story that almost feels like a fiction to read.
I enjoyed this so much. Like, a surprising amount. It was a charity shop spot that I could’ve easily walked past but obviously I am very glad I didn’t.
This is an engaging and genuinely interesting insight into history and an essential read for feminist legends. It’s sex positive in its account, but hoe sex positivity should be- not screaming YES SEX and making a huge thing over it. Instead, it simply normalises this profession. Some came into this industry through horrible circumstances, some passionately choose this industry. Some have good experiences, some have bad experiences. They seem neither dramatised or romanised, and just told from historical records.
As you could guess from the title, this book is about the Covent Garden Ladies. These ladies are the known sex workers of the area which Harris and Derrick detailed in a pocket book in 1759. This book spread the women to avoid, the women to seek, those who specialised in certain things.
Historian Hallie Rubenhold, who also wrote The Five, provides a crisp overview of this. This is absolutely not some dry textbook Source A shit that you’d have to analyse in your history exam. This is a fun and full of life story that almost feels like a fiction to read.
I enjoyed this so much. Like, a surprising amount. It was a charity shop spot that I could’ve easily walked past but obviously I am very glad I didn’t.
This is an engaging and genuinely interesting insight into history and an essential read for feminist legends. It’s sex positive in its account, but hoe sex positivity should be- not screaming YES SEX and making a huge thing over it. Instead, it simply normalises this profession. Some came into this industry through horrible circumstances, some passionately choose this industry. Some have good experiences, some have bad experiences. They seem neither dramatised or romanised, and just told from historical records.