Wow! What a good book. It is set in the 1750s/60s and the author paints a very very vivid picture of life in urban London at the time. Mary Saunders, whose fictional life is based on a real criminal of the time, is the daughter of a dressmaker. Her problem is that she is not happy in "her station" in life -- and this sets in motion events that will lead her into a life of prostitution. Convinced by another prostitute who has taken her in to get out, she spends some time in a government hospital for "wayward" women, then is forced to flee London upon her release. She goes back to where her mother grew up, in Wales, and settles in with a family there as a dressmaker's helper & servant. The rest I am not going to tell, because it would totally ruin the book for the next reader.

The imagery is great; Mary's character is very richly developed in this novel as are those of the people around her.

Enjoy reading this book. It is very very good.

Going to DrBrown after I read.

I forgot to journal the arrival of this book last week. I'm looking forward to reading it! Thank you, Quinnsmom!

Go out and get yourself a copy of this novel. Run, do not walk. Take the phone off the hook and disappear into the England of the 1700's. Based on a true story, this novel is a fun fast read, historical and modern all at once. Trust me, this is a good one.

I'm sending this one on to two more BXers, Betsy-STL and LesliePB. Enjoy, everyone!

Received via mail today. Thanks DrBrown. I'll read it ASAP and send it on to the next reader.

I enjoyed "Slammerkin". It was very well written with a lot of historical detail. I really felt sorry for Mary and the way things turned out for her in the end.
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Mailed to LesliePB on Monday 7-21-03.

Received today! Thank you, Betsy-STL!

I second the motion: Wow! What a good book! And it's sad and depressing -- but what a look into the past and the constraints of the past -- makes you wonder what historical fiction of our own era will look like, especially if the future has an Emma Donnoghue to speculate for them.

Released on Sunday, October 05, 2003 at Stauf's Coffee Roasters, Grandview in Columbus, Ohio USA.

In with the other books, back by the restroom. Enjoy!