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This was kind of a weird book. I was completely shocked when he killed off Henry halfway through. And I was kind of surprised, but interested too now that I think about it, in the way the characters slipped into the narrative and then slipped out again. Agnes gets on a train and then she's gone; I like to think she made it to a nice convent somewhere, but who knows? I am fairly sure she wasn't the dead woman they pulled out of the river. I was a little shocked at how William reacted when he found out Sugar was pregnant; what does he think happens to a woman when you repeatedly have sex with her? But I guess that was par for the course back then. And there wasn't even any reason to turn her out since she'd already lost the baby by then--as if the fact of her having been pregnant made her unsuitable to take care of his daughter, when all the other things he'd done to and with her were okay. I was glad Sugar took Sophie in the end and that Sophie went with it. Sugar will be a good mother to Sophie, and I really doubt the police will catch her--she'll get out of London and set herself up in a business and just disappear. And William will be okay eventually--his wounds will heal, and he'll marry Lady Bridgelow and she'll have babies and he'll forget about his first family. I liked how the story both started and ended with Caroline. It was still kind of an odd story, though. I think it would make a better movie. Wonder if he's optioned it yet.
I've been reading this book all week. The other day Jorn asked me what it was about, and I said, "Prostitutes in London in the 1870s." He proceeded to shake his head in amazement at the amount of books I read about prostitutes. I was like, what? But he cited the Kushiel trilogy (well, she's only sort of a prostitute! She's chosen by the damn gods!) and The Floating Brothel, about the female convicts going to Australia. But that's it, honestly. I'm a little surprised, now that I think about it, that I haven't read more books about prostitutes lately, given the amount of books I read that focus on women characters. I just went back through my 2005 book list looking to see if I'd read any other books about prostitutes, but no--several about women using sex to get what they want, or to survive, or about women who were poor or women who were manipulative, or books that were historical in character (because apparently I only like dead hookers?), but none of the others on the list for this year were about prostitutes. So there.
Oh, and hey: does anyone want this book? I got it in hardback from Harvard Book Store's clearance bin for like four dollars. It's yours if you want it.
I've been reading this book all week. The other day Jorn asked me what it was about, and I said, "Prostitutes in London in the 1870s." He proceeded to shake his head in amazement at the amount of books I read about prostitutes. I was like, what? But he cited the Kushiel trilogy (well, she's only sort of a prostitute! She's chosen by the damn gods!) and The Floating Brothel, about the female convicts going to Australia. But that's it, honestly. I'm a little surprised, now that I think about it, that I haven't read more books about prostitutes lately, given the amount of books I read that focus on women characters. I just went back through my 2005 book list looking to see if I'd read any other books about prostitutes, but no--several about women using sex to get what they want, or to survive, or about women who were poor or women who were manipulative, or books that were historical in character (because apparently I only like dead hookers?), but none of the others on the list for this year were about prostitutes. So there.
Oh, and hey: does anyone want this book? I got it in hardback from Harvard Book Store's clearance bin for like four dollars. It's yours if you want it.
