The Dress Lodger (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

by Sheri Holman | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0345436911 Global Overview for this book
Registered by quietorchid of Saint Paul, Minnesota USA on 7/15/2010
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
This book is in a Controlled Release! This book is in a Controlled Release!
8 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by quietorchid from Saint Paul, Minnesota USA on Thursday, July 15, 2010
Slow start, but after a certain point you can't put it down. I loved 'Pink' who wanted to be a ferret because they were better treated/respected than she was as a child of the slums.

Journal Entry 2 by quietorchid at Fischerville Coffee House in Mendota Heights, Minnesota USA on Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Released 13 yrs ago (8/24/2010 UTC) at Fischerville Coffee House in Mendota Heights, Minnesota USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left in the basket

Journal Entry 3 by JudySlump612 at Mendota Heights, Minnesota USA on Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sorry to be so greedy and pick up your book, quietorchid, but you keep releasing such GOOD books!

Journal Entry 4 by JudySlump612 at Mendota Heights, Minnesota USA on Monday, February 28, 2011
I loved the book, and so did DrSlump, but I disagree that it has a slow start. The frantic bustle and activity, the vivid sensory detail, and then the abrupt shift in viewpoint - I was completely hooked before the end of the first chapter. I very much liked Holman's passionate, sarcastic style, and would like to read more by her.

For me, the most unforgettable part was Gustine's work at the pottery. It was so horrible I couldn't imagine how anything could be worse. Then of course enough people died of cholera that the pottery closed and she had no job, and yes, that was worse. And the Eye's story, that was bad too. All in all, this seems like a utopian dream for the Tea Party - no pesky government intrusion in aid of workers' safety, and none of that socialistic safety net either.

One small note on the cover illustration: it's perfectly suited to the book, and it caught my eye right away. The use of blue in the otherwise monochromatic scene highlights the dress which is such an important element, and also picks up the many ways Holman uses the color blue throughout the book. But the dress pictured does NOT have the gigot sleeves described. Look it up - here are some good pictures: http://www.thefashionhistorian.com/2011/03/gigot-sleeves.html

This fits perfectly into the Medicine Chest bookbox on two counts> First, the study of the effects of the cholera outbreak (and of course the denial by the municipal leaders that any such thing is happening). Second, the struggles of the main male character to obtain bodies to dissect for anatomy classes, something Holman shows us is more complex than we could have ever guessed.

Journal Entry 5 by JudySlump612 at by mail, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Friday, March 4, 2011

Released 13 yrs ago (3/4/2011 UTC) at by mail, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Placed in Medicine Chest Bookbox

Journal Entry 6 by Minerva101 at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, March 26, 2011
I picked this book out of the box and replaced it with A Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks which is also historical fiction, but looks at the plague rather than cholera. I think I am going to enjoy this one very much - thank you JudySlump612 :)

Journal Entry 7 by Minerva101 at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Thursday, September 10, 2015
Another one that took me a while to get around to, but it was worth the wait. The book has an interesting voice and the prose is quite lovely. The book is also very gritty and hard to read at times - uncomfortable and sad.
I am so glad to be alive and be woman in Canada in present time. Our ancestors in the 1800's had a very hard life.

Thank you once again for sharing, JudySlump612 - I will be passing this book along at the next Bookcrossing meeting here in Calgary.

Journal Entry 8 by Minerva101 at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Monday, November 16, 2015

Released 8 yrs ago (11/14/2015 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Passed along at the Calgary Bookcrossing meeting at Cravings - happy reading!

Journal Entry 9 by megami-no-ushi at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Monday, November 16, 2015
Picked up at the November meeting.

Journal Entry 10 by megami-no-ushi at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, April 8, 2017

Released 6 yrs ago (4/8/2017 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Taking to the April meet up - it was grittier than I first expected but I really enjoyed this book!

To the finder:
Calgary has an active group of BookCrossers that meet to swap books and discuss book crossing every second Saturday of the month at 11am at Cravings Market on Fairmount Drive SE. We always love to meet new crossers, so please join us any time you like!

Journal Entry 11 by Eri-Cherry at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Monday, April 10, 2017
Picked up at get together

Journal Entry 12 by Eri-Cherry at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, July 14, 2018
This was a very interesting read. Not quite what I was expecting at all. A lot of bad inbetween, and then suddenly all the bad at once. I wasn't wholly satisfied with all the resolutions of the different character stories. Though I thought it settled well for a couple of them at the end. Also, the reveal of the real narrators of the story was great!

Thanks for the interesting read.

Journal Entry 13 by Eri-Cherry at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, July 14, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (7/14/2018 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Taken to get together!

Journal Entry 14 by Crataegus at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Monday, July 16, 2018
Picked up at this month's Calgary Bookcrossing meetup. Looking forward to the read!

Journal Entry 15 by Crataegus at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, August 11, 2018
I was hooked on the premise of a good dark historical fiction, but this.was.dark. Very rarely do I have to break up a book over several days due to the content but I had to with this. After finishing it, I ended up spending a few days reeling and dealing with my existentialism.

If you want a nice historical fiction, this isn't the book for you. But man. Was it ever a good read. Be prepared for a story that focuses more on death than anything else. Major cringe factors throughout the book - namely autopsies of the dead.

Will be brought to Calgary Bookcrossing and handed off.

Journal Entry 16 by sing-song at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Wednesday, August 15, 2018
I brought this home from the August meetup at Cravings.

Journal Entry 17 by sing-song at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, August 10, 2019
This book was a little distressing but kept you reading. Combined historical diseases - cholera, with a mystery, occupations like Dress lodger and some pretty distressing things about how people respond to things like disease and how the poor are treated. It started out rather strangely but I persevered.

Journal Entry 18 by sing-song at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, August 10, 2019

Released 4 yrs ago (8/10/2019 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I am taking this to the August meet up at Cravings.

Journal Entry 19 by AnnaDevika at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, August 11, 2019
Sounds interesting and dark. Caught at local meetup Aug 2019

Journal Entry 20 by AnnaDevika at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, September 24, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (9/24/2022 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Controlled release to next reader

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.