Book description
Set in London and Monmouth in the late 1700s, this is an extraordinary novel about Mary Saunders, the young daughter of a poor seamstress. Mary hungers greedily for fine clothes and ribbons, as people of her class do for food and warmth. It's a hunger that lures her into prostitution…
Why read it?
1 author picked Slammerkin as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Maybe it’s because of my working-class roots, but Mary Saunders, an obscure but very real historical figure, is the sort of woman I wanted to root for. After all, it takes initiative, ingenuity, and not a small dose of impetuosity to rise from a lower-class schoolgirl to, well, some higher station. I was saddened to see how Mary’s yearnings to free herself from the shackles of her class forced her into prostitution at a young age. But when she made a dangerous misstep that set her on the run and landed her a position of a household seamstress, I couldn’t…
From Maryka's list on wily, take-charge women.
If you love Slammerkin...
Margery and Me
In the 1920s, famous psychic Margery Crandon astounds her followers and confounds scientists and magician Harry Houdini.
Will Houdini be her undoing? At a time when spiritualism draws many wishing to commune with their dearly departed, medium Margery Crandon entertains Boston society and intrigues psychic researchers. Her deceased brother, Walter,…
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