Karen K. (kkowert) - , reviewed on 4/15/2011 + 44 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

A Dress Lodger is a new term for the worlds oldest occupation invented by an enterprising and cruel landlord. Gustine, a poor young girl living in Sunderland, England in 1831 strikes a deal with her landlord. He gives her an exquisite blue dress to attract a better class of clientele as she walks the streets at night for her second job. In return, she shares her income and is provided a miserable, windowless roof over her head for herself and her baby. The descriptions of the living conditions of 19th century Englands underprivileged are so clear you can see and hear the poverty, hopelessness and fear of the working people in Sunderland who are barely able to eke out a living and are now facing a cholera epidemic. The narrative is told in second person and the narrator talks directly to you the reader occasionally. Sometimes I enjoyed this approach; other times I couldnt readily determine who was talking.

Gustine works hard to care for her baby who was born with some medical issues and she believes she finds the answers to her prayers when she meets a doctor and surgeon at her local pub. She gets involved in helping the doctor procure dead bodies so he can dissect them and learn how to treat cholera and other diseases. Her involvement with the doctor brings her into conflict with the superstitious fears of the uneducated and frightened poor who do not appreciate becoming science experiments upon their demise. This account of poverty and cholera is not a happy tale; however there is enough suspense to keep you engaged in the story.

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