Slammerkin

Fülszöveg

Inspired by tKe scant record of a long-forgotten murder, Emma DonogKue Kas written a lively, bawdy, unforgettable novel
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. A dangerous misstep sends her fleeing to Monmouth and the refuge of the middle-class household of Mrs. Jones, her mother s childhood friend. There she becomes the seamstress her mother always expected her to be and lives the ordinary life of an ordinary girl.
Although Mary becomes a close confidante of Mrs. Jones and has a catalytic effect on the entire household, her desire for a better life leads her back to prostitution. Ultimately, Mary remains true only to the three rules she learned on the streets of London: ?iever give up your liberty. Clothes mal{e the woman. Clothes are the greatest lie ever told. And it is clothes, their splendor and their deception, that will finally lead... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Inspired by tKe scant record of a long-forgotten murder, Emma DonogKue Kas written a lively, bawdy, unforgettable novel
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. A dangerous misstep sends her fleeing to Monmouth and the refuge of the middle-class household of Mrs. Jones, her mother s childhood friend. There she becomes the seamstress her mother always expected her to be and lives the ordinary life of an ordinary girl.
Although Mary becomes a close confidante of Mrs. Jones and has a catalytic effect on the entire household, her desire for a better life leads her back to prostitution. Ultimately, Mary remains true only to the three rules she learned on the streets of London: ?iever give up your liberty. Clothes mal{e the woman. Clothes are the greatest lie ever told. And it is clothes, their splendor and their deception, that will finally lead Mary to disaster.
Emma Donoghue wears her learning as lightly and jauntily as the strolling girls did their slammerkins and brings a daring eye and sensually charged prose to the squalor and glamour of eighteenth-century England. This is historical fiction at its most colorful and readable best-accurate, masterfully written, and infused with themes that still bedevil us today.
Born in 1969, Emma Donoghue is an Irish novehst, playwright, and historian who Uves in Canada. Her other works of fiction include Stir^Fry, Hood, and Kissmg the V/itch.
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Advance praise for
SI
a m m e r
kin
"Irresistible and deeply satisfying [Slammer}{in] is a harrowing, abundantly detailed chronicle of a woman's fate, sharply attentive to both class conflict and individual psychology, enlivened by superbly realized figures A rich, vibrant canvas that brings the age of Hogarth and Richardson stunningly to life."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"A gripping and extraordinarily atmospheric tale Not only has Emma Donoghue written an elegant and literary page turner in the best, contemporary sense, she has also laid a rich feast for lovers of historical novels." —Katharine Weber, author of The Music Lesson
"An absorbing, moving and intelligent work of fiction . . . An exhilarating dialogue with the literature of the period and an imaginative attempt to capture the climate of change in the 1760s. Donoghue's writing is suffused with sensuality and sharp emotion."
—The Times Literary Supplement (London)
"Finding a language that inhabits but is in no way weighted down by its time, Donoghue has made of an obscure and brutal story' a compelling novel, and a brilliant historical variant on the 'girl about town' novel." —The Financial Times (London)
"A strong, heady character from a strong, heady writer." —Lynn Freed, author of The MirroR
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