Professional review:
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
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.
Review:
"This book rocks, from the title on." USA Today
Review:
"This boldly imagined historical fiction...represents a quantum leap forward....Donoghue has triumphantly reimagined the life of a real historical figure of whom nothing is known beyond [a] few facts....Irresistible, and deeply satisfying. Donoghue has surpassed herself." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review:
"Donoghue shows her mastery of eighteenth-century England and epic storytelling....[A] serious but suspenseful and even entertaining novel....What is most amazing is Donoghue's capacity for tackling weighty issues (prostitution, crime, and slavery) while avoiding didacticism." Booklist
Synopsis:
Inspired by the story of a teenage girl who murdered her mistress in 1763 because she "longed for fine clothes, " "Slammerkin" is the bestselling classic story of a lower-class Roxana, a female Tom Jones.
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
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.
Review:
"This book rocks, from the title on." USA Today
Review:
"This boldly imagined historical fiction...represents a quantum leap forward....Donoghue has triumphantly reimagined the life of a real historical figure of whom nothing is known beyond [a] few facts....Irresistible, and deeply satisfying. Donoghue has surpassed herself." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review:
"Donoghue shows her mastery of eighteenth-century England and epic storytelling....[A] serious but suspenseful and even entertaining novel....What is most amazing is Donoghue's capacity for tackling weighty issues (prostitution, crime, and slavery) while avoiding didacticism." Booklist
Synopsis:
Inspired by the story of a teenage girl who murdered her mistress in 1763 because she "longed for fine clothes, " "Slammerkin" is the bestselling classic story of a lower-class Roxana, a female Tom Jones.
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