Publication
New York : Ballantine Books, 2001.
Collection
Call number
Fiction H
Status
Available
Call number
Description
A novel on the hardship of the Industrial Revolution through the eyes of an Englishwoman forced to be a prostitute to make ends meet. A potter's assistant during the day, she changes at night into a gown, rented by her pimp to walk the narrow streets. It is cold and business is slow. By the author of A Stolen Tongue.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
A poor man's 'Crimson Petal and the White' (Faber). Holman states in the reader's guide at the back of the Ballantine edition that she was inspired by Dickens' 'Bleak House', but this is presumably a Dickens born in America, barely on nodding terms with London, and born over a hundred years too
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late. Although an interesting concept, with informative background into the 1832 cholera epidemic and the extreme poverty of a northern England town, Holman misses the mark with her dark study of nineteenth century life. The narrative is littered with anachronisms (gold lame, in the 1830s?), American phrases and colloquialisms (blocks instead of streets, charley horse instead of cramp, diapers, candy, hairdos, and even a white picket fence!); the dialogue is badly written (she should have had an English editor check over her 'bad language', as the blue-tongued landlord sounds like a five year old experimenting with naughty words!) and peppered with random attempts at local dialect; and her characters are more caricatures than vivid personalities. The second person narration suits the style and setting of the novel, but it's been better executed elsewhere, and although Holman doesn't censor the horrors of disease and prostitution, the suggestion of a happy ending for Gustine and Pink seems tacked on after nearly three hundred pages of misery and degradation. Read Michel Faber's 'Crimson Petal' instead, or indeed Dickens' 'Bleak House'. Show Less
LibraryThing member davidabrams
Turn the pages of The Dress Lodger and you’re turning the dial on a time machine. Destination: England, 1831.
Sheri Holman’s novel is one of those rare pieces of historical fiction which thrust you so completely into another time, another place, that the modern world—with all its bright,
The Dress Lodger is part thriller, part character study, part social treatise. But it’s all good.
Written in the florid style of Charles Dickens, but with the darkly ick-factor of a modern-day Stephen King, the book follows several characters through the port town of Sunderland during a horrific cholera epidemic in the fall of 1831. Gustine is a potter’s assistant by day, a 15-year-old prostitute by night. As she walks the streets of Sunderland looking for a “quick poke�Â? from any man with coins in his pocket, sheâÂÂs trailed by an ugly old hag known only as the Eye. The one-eyed crone is paid by GustineâÂÂs pimp to âÂÂkeep an eyeâÂ? on her while she plies her private wares. Gustine is one of those prostitutes whoâÂÂs known as a âÂÂdress lodgerâÂ?âÂÂeach night, she wears a blue gown to attract men. Her pimp hires the Eye spy to make sure the valuable dress isnâÂÂt stolen. HereâÂÂs how Holman describes the arrangement:
Dress lodging works on this basic principle: a cheap whore is given a fancy dress to pass as a higher class of prostitute. The higher the class of prostitute, the higher the station, the higher the price. In return, the girl is given a roof over her head and a few hours of make-believe. Everyone is happy.
Except everyone in Sunderland is miserable. The town has been quarantined, strangling the cityâÂÂs economy. Ships must remain off-shore while their cargo rots in the holds below. Meanwhile, most of the residents believe the cholera epidemic is a government conspiracy created to scare the poor classes. Most people donâÂÂt even believe thereâÂÂs such a thing as the deadly disease. To the working class citizens, doctors are the real villains in early 19th-century EnglandâÂÂafter all, theyâÂÂre the ones who go around robbing graves and dissecting corpses, all in the name of science.
This brings us to our next character: Dr. Henry Chiver, a zealous young surgeon whoâÂÂs recently fled Edinburgh where he was involved in a famous case of two anatomistsâÂÂBurke and HareâÂÂwho were convicted of murder and grave robbing. Holman paints Henry in some pretty unflattering lightâÂÂheâÂÂs selfish, self-righteous and chillingly devoted to the pursuit of scienceâ¦even at the expense of human life.
Henry and Gustine collide early in the course of the novel as each discovers the other has something they want. For Henry, itâÂÂs a chance for more bodies as Gustine leads him to corpses she discovers during her street peddling. For Gustine, the possibly deranged doctor represents her last best hope for her infant, a little boy who was born with his heart on the outside of his body (yes, literallyâ¦you have to read it to believe it).
The novel is filled with bodysnatching, crude dissections and scenes of primitive medical horror that Hannibal Lecter would probably read like pornography. The weak-stomached are warned that some pages are rather hard toâ¦well, stomach. But, thanks to HolmanâÂÂs incredible eye for detail, the language is always vivid and rich. Here, for instance, is one particularly memorable grave-robbing scene:
Henry drops the body sharply against the coffin and scrambles back to the surface. This isnâÂÂt happening. Calm down. Calm down, he tells himself. Men far less competent and careful than you have dug up bodies and not been driven mad by it. Reach in, feel under her armpits. Pull. Yes, this is not the smell of rye, but merely a ripening body not yet preserved in salt. This heaviness I understand; it is not a frantic pulling back to the grave but the purely scientific phenomenon of blood pooling in the extremities. He lies flat on his belly and tugs the young woman free of the earth.
HolmanâÂÂs way with words is so good that it overshadows some of the bookâÂÂs problemsâÂÂnamely, the unlikable Henry who takes center stage in the narrative like a raving Dr. Frankenstein, and the pitiable Gustine who blindly and resolutely walks toward tragedy even as weâÂÂre clenching our fingers where they grip the book and calling out, âÂÂNo, no, no!âÂ? The Dress Lodger ends in a heap of grim, cluttered tragedy which almost literally hurts to read. But I can see HolmanâÂÂs point: this wasnâÂÂt the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Sheri Holman’s novel is one of those rare pieces of historical fiction which thrust you so completely into another time, another place, that the modern world—with all its bright,
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sparkly conveniences—melts away. Welcome to the Industrial Revolution, dear reader. You’ll feel the mud, you’ll smell the rotting wharf life, you’ll taste the bitter cholera on your tongue. You’ll also want to shower afterwards. The Dress Lodger is part thriller, part character study, part social treatise. But it’s all good.
Written in the florid style of Charles Dickens, but with the darkly ick-factor of a modern-day Stephen King, the book follows several characters through the port town of Sunderland during a horrific cholera epidemic in the fall of 1831. Gustine is a potter’s assistant by day, a 15-year-old prostitute by night. As she walks the streets of Sunderland looking for a “quick poke�Â? from any man with coins in his pocket, sheâÂÂs trailed by an ugly old hag known only as the Eye. The one-eyed crone is paid by GustineâÂÂs pimp to âÂÂkeep an eyeâÂ? on her while she plies her private wares. Gustine is one of those prostitutes whoâÂÂs known as a âÂÂdress lodgerâÂ?âÂÂeach night, she wears a blue gown to attract men. Her pimp hires the Eye spy to make sure the valuable dress isnâÂÂt stolen. HereâÂÂs how Holman describes the arrangement:
Dress lodging works on this basic principle: a cheap whore is given a fancy dress to pass as a higher class of prostitute. The higher the class of prostitute, the higher the station, the higher the price. In return, the girl is given a roof over her head and a few hours of make-believe. Everyone is happy.
Except everyone in Sunderland is miserable. The town has been quarantined, strangling the cityâÂÂs economy. Ships must remain off-shore while their cargo rots in the holds below. Meanwhile, most of the residents believe the cholera epidemic is a government conspiracy created to scare the poor classes. Most people donâÂÂt even believe thereâÂÂs such a thing as the deadly disease. To the working class citizens, doctors are the real villains in early 19th-century EnglandâÂÂafter all, theyâÂÂre the ones who go around robbing graves and dissecting corpses, all in the name of science.
This brings us to our next character: Dr. Henry Chiver, a zealous young surgeon whoâÂÂs recently fled Edinburgh where he was involved in a famous case of two anatomistsâÂÂBurke and HareâÂÂwho were convicted of murder and grave robbing. Holman paints Henry in some pretty unflattering lightâÂÂheâÂÂs selfish, self-righteous and chillingly devoted to the pursuit of scienceâ¦even at the expense of human life.
Henry and Gustine collide early in the course of the novel as each discovers the other has something they want. For Henry, itâÂÂs a chance for more bodies as Gustine leads him to corpses she discovers during her street peddling. For Gustine, the possibly deranged doctor represents her last best hope for her infant, a little boy who was born with his heart on the outside of his body (yes, literallyâ¦you have to read it to believe it).
The novel is filled with bodysnatching, crude dissections and scenes of primitive medical horror that Hannibal Lecter would probably read like pornography. The weak-stomached are warned that some pages are rather hard toâ¦well, stomach. But, thanks to HolmanâÂÂs incredible eye for detail, the language is always vivid and rich. Here, for instance, is one particularly memorable grave-robbing scene:
Henry drops the body sharply against the coffin and scrambles back to the surface. This isnâÂÂt happening. Calm down. Calm down, he tells himself. Men far less competent and careful than you have dug up bodies and not been driven mad by it. Reach in, feel under her armpits. Pull. Yes, this is not the smell of rye, but merely a ripening body not yet preserved in salt. This heaviness I understand; it is not a frantic pulling back to the grave but the purely scientific phenomenon of blood pooling in the extremities. He lies flat on his belly and tugs the young woman free of the earth.
HolmanâÂÂs way with words is so good that it overshadows some of the bookâÂÂs problemsâÂÂnamely, the unlikable Henry who takes center stage in the narrative like a raving Dr. Frankenstein, and the pitiable Gustine who blindly and resolutely walks toward tragedy even as weâÂÂre clenching our fingers where they grip the book and calling out, âÂÂNo, no, no!âÂ? The Dress Lodger ends in a heap of grim, cluttered tragedy which almost literally hurts to read. But I can see HolmanâÂÂs point: this wasnâÂÂt the best of times, it was the worst of times.
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LibraryThing member debnance
Would be fun to do a compare/contrast with this book and Slammerkin. The main character here, like S, is also a prostitute. Surprisingly good story. The historical details felt authentic.
LibraryThing member DebbieHorton
So dark and disturbing at times, I wanted to put it down, but could not. If you are reading it, finish it. It is one of the most interesting reads in a long time. Details of the 19th century are vivid and griping. A totally different heroine makes it all the more fasinating.
LibraryThing member Cherizar
One of those unique writers that are able to draw so detailed of a world that you are engulfed in the look, smell and feel each time you pick up the book. The story of a poor, low class girl who works by day carrying clay pots to the furnace and at night puts on a jewel blue satin gown and
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prostitutes herself in exchange for room and board, while a cholera epidemic hits a small town in England. Her chance meeting with a doctor seems like providence as her infant son is born with his heart outside the sternum. Words don't express the uniqueness of the writing style, story lines and historical footnotes that made this author of my instant favorites - eager to read her other works. Show Less
LibraryThing member bnbookgirl
Loved this book. Great historical fiction. A descriptive history of the oldest profession in a different light. A love story too. This book is touching and thought-provoking at the same time. A book about damnation and salvation.
LibraryThing member Daniel.Estes
Two characters, the young Gustine and the un-empathetic Dr. Henry Chiver, are separated by class and even by their aim of life. In this story they cross paths in ways that will tragically change them forever.
The descriptions in The Dress Lodger are thick with detail. The pacing is slow as a result,
The descriptions in The Dress Lodger are thick with detail. The pacing is slow as a result,
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but that doesn't in the least take away from the urgency of the story. The central character, Gustine, lives during a time of nearly hopeless poverty. From the point of view of the lower class, you might confuse the time period as the Dark Ages and not pre-industrial England. This is how heartrendingly simple and limiting their lives are. Show Less
LibraryThing member beckylynn
Don't waste your time. The point of view changes in odd and sporadic places without commentary so you never have any clue who's talking or thinking what. Not to mention the story is long, drawn out, and boring. Seemed to be very promising but fell flat on it's face.
LibraryThing member mandaj
Immediately, I was distracted by the voice in this book. What starts out as second person narrative (the narrator refers to you the reader), changes to first person, to third person, and back again. Outside of this minor irritation, the book was wonderfully descriptive. I found myself fully
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immersed in the 19th century at the beginning of the Cholera outbreak. Show Less
LibraryThing member dczapka
Talk about unexpected.
This novel starts off most peculiarly, with a distinct narrative voice that seems at once intimate but disjoint. Like so many of the small plot threads that are introduced in the opening chapters, the reason for that voice is never made clear until near the very end -- at
While the plot here is fascinating, with its potent mix of poverty, prostitution, cholera, and vivisection, it eventually becomes far less important than the characters, who suddenly become complex and involving right when you least suspect it; passages near the end of the book almost brought me to tears.
In the end, there are no easy solutions, no static characters, and no true sense of right, wrong, or justice. But it's a thought-provoking and engaging read all the way, and well worth the time to examine it.
This novel starts off most peculiarly, with a distinct narrative voice that seems at once intimate but disjoint. Like so many of the small plot threads that are introduced in the opening chapters, the reason for that voice is never made clear until near the very end -- at
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which point the novel has become something radically different and deeply affecting.While the plot here is fascinating, with its potent mix of poverty, prostitution, cholera, and vivisection, it eventually becomes far less important than the characters, who suddenly become complex and involving right when you least suspect it; passages near the end of the book almost brought me to tears.
In the end, there are no easy solutions, no static characters, and no true sense of right, wrong, or justice. But it's a thought-provoking and engaging read all the way, and well worth the time to examine it.
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LibraryThing member sunfi
A historical fiction piece set in England in 1831 at the start of a cholera epidemic. The story crosses the lives of the well-to-do and the poor and looks at the class struggles and their perception of the epidemic. This story has a little of everything, prostitution, body-snatching, tenement
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housing, and every other social condition you can imagine during that time period. Show Less
LibraryThing member SmithSJ01
Not a jolly topic at all but this book about 19th Century grave robbers is fascinating to say the least. It's not riveting but quite distubring in places. It's difficult to say it's 'enjoyable' but I found the characters well-rounded and the plot convincing. I don't if it is historically accurate
Although I'm from the north east it was not a Sunderland I was ever likely to know however it was fun to read about places I actually knew. This aside, the story is gripping. Be prepared to put it down regularly for a cup of coffee as it is actually difficult in places but on the whole a worth while experience.
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or not but a wonderful tale of a doctor and dress lodger is developed in the cholera stricken Sunderland during 1831. Although I'm from the north east it was not a Sunderland I was ever likely to know however it was fun to read about places I actually knew. This aside, the story is gripping. Be prepared to put it down regularly for a cup of coffee as it is actually difficult in places but on the whole a worth while experience.
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LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
The story line was good, if gory, but the weird narrator that intruded at times really got on my nerves. I won't read this author again.
LibraryThing member GoldenBeep
A friend of mine recommended this book to me. She said only that I would enjoy it, and though the title made me think that it would be mindless chick literature, I knew from the first chapter that she was right. The story follows two characters at the dawn of the cholera epidemic in England:
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Gustine, a young prostitute and mother, and Henry Chiver, an engaged doctor. The story follows Chiver's struggles with finding bodies to perform his autopsies. Holman writes with a gripping style that simply refuses to let go. The only problem with this book is that it eventually ends. An absolute joy to read, especially if you have any interest in history, medicine, or 19th century prostitution. Show Less
LibraryThing member bhowell
This is an excellent book and maybe I will now tackle The Mammoth Cheese. This is an historical novel but it is not a light read. It is intense and shocking in its detail of poverty and disease in 1830's England. It also highlights the grisly history of body snatching by the medical profession to
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practice their surgical skills. Sometimes it borders on the fantastic but on the whole tells a heartbreaking and riveting story. Show Less
LibraryThing member coffeesucker
One of the best books I've ever read! Stunning and brilliant!
LibraryThing member Mintypink
The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman might be unsettling at first, especially for readers who aren’t used to being directly addressed by the narrators. However, if you stick with the story, which is set right in the middle of a cholera outbreak in Sunderland, England (circa 1830’s), you will be
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well rewarded. This is a bit of beautifully crafted historical fiction, blending history and plot, although not entirely seamlessly. The writing style is descriptive, rich and satisfying in some passages, but chokingly florid in others. The highlight of this book would have to be the characters. They are all so well thought out, albeit unsubtle. I did find myself reacting to each character, which is always a good thing, but I think Holman may have been a little heavy handed in her attempt to push the plot forward. Show Less
LibraryThing member Zumbanista
The Dress Lodger is a grim and unsavoury Dickens.
The writing is very descriptive, bordering on purple prose. It begins with a “fourth wall” technique speaking to the character just written, and continues throughout to use uniquely creative techniques. The characters are well drawn, if
This is not a novel for the squeamish or easily offended. You will learn a lot about Cholera, grave robbing, vivisection and prostitution. Maybe more than you bargained for.
My patience did grow thin with the wordiness towards the end of the book. I really wanted to be done with it. While it’s an extremely good story, the manner of its telling left me feeling depressed and disheartened. I was glad to be moving on.
The writing is very descriptive, bordering on purple prose. It begins with a “fourth wall” technique speaking to the character just written, and continues throughout to use uniquely creative techniques. The characters are well drawn, if
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occasionally stereotypical. This is not a novel for the squeamish or easily offended. You will learn a lot about Cholera, grave robbing, vivisection and prostitution. Maybe more than you bargained for.
My patience did grow thin with the wordiness towards the end of the book. I really wanted to be done with it. While it’s an extremely good story, the manner of its telling left me feeling depressed and disheartened. I was glad to be moving on.
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LibraryThing member mldavis2
At times raw and gritty, this novel is one of those in which the author has researched English history in the town of Sunderland and combined historical facts into a fictional novel of power. Narration uncertainty becomes a vehicle in the story in which the characters often mean well but often
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suffer from ignorance and superstition. This is a well written book with a prostitute as a main character and symbolism woven throughout. An excellent discussion book if you're a member of a group. Recommended with reservation only for its adult themes which may not be to everyone's taste. Show Less
LibraryThing member Moriquen
Although the story in itself isn't bad, it fails to impress me completely. It oozes grime and filth we find difficult to imagine, but sometimes it seems that is all the book is about. Dr. Chiver sometimes feels like a side character while he isn't supposed to be. The 'us' voice Holman uses is
In short: it had every element to be a book I could have loved, but it didn't deliver.
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unreal and confusing, it is way too etheric for a story that is so utterly down to earth.In short: it had every element to be a book I could have loved, but it didn't deliver.
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LibraryThing member mjspear
Prostitution, grave-robbing, disease that makes people's skin turn blue... combine all this with a one-eyed hag, a child whore, a baby with a grotesque chest deformity, and a hot-headed doctor = one heck of a gritty look at 1830s England. Not for the faint-of-heart but a compelling, historically
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valid (much researched) look at the underclass in the 'bad old days.' This historical fiction takes a hard look at the epicenter of the cholera epidemic, Sunderland, England and the lengths people who have little will go to to survive. Show Less
LibraryThing member VhartPowers
The story starts out in great detail the first couple of pages drew me in, then gets a little strange by including the we in reader and story teller? Then page 4,5 I was slapped in the face with two f'bombs, and continues with a g-d, a slang word for a female body part, rape and a dead body. That's
I turn to the back of the book, who in the world IS THIS main character?! Ah, she's a prostitute. My mistake.
I bought the book awhile back and my life and way of thinking has changed a great deal since then. Perhaps I would have liked it then, but as for now, this type of writing is no longer a part of my library.
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just the first chapter. The author succeeded in making me disgusted that she couldn't find a more talented or skillful way of describing the life of the main character. I turn to the back of the book, who in the world IS THIS main character?! Ah, she's a prostitute. My mistake.
I bought the book awhile back and my life and way of thinking has changed a great deal since then. Perhaps I would have liked it then, but as for now, this type of writing is no longer a part of my library.
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LibraryThing member AmaliaGavea
This is a novel that takes you in the heart of Victorian London. The nightmarish prose, Dickensian and haunting at the same time, introduces Gustine, a very interesting character, and Dr. Chiver who is controversial and fascinating. At the heart of the story lies Medicine, and the well-known
One of the best books set in Victorian England, a time of a society full of progress and tumultuousness.
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practice of stealing the unfortunate dead bodies in order to perform autopsies. There are echoes of the Burke & Hare events and the coming of the plague that troubled Britain in 1831 claiming about 52,000 lives. Amidst the bleakness, Gustine must protect her baby, an extraordinary child with a curse that is also a gift. One of the best books set in Victorian England, a time of a society full of progress and tumultuousness.
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LibraryThing member bcrowl399
It took me too long to finish this book. It was well written, but it slowed down in the middle. I'm glad I finished it, because the end was worth it. Topics of respect for the dead compared to scientific advances were examined in the time of a cholera epidemic with frank humor and balanced
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representation of all sides of the arguments. I felt the sentiments of Giustine deeply and even came to love the Eye. Show Less
LibraryThing member countrylife
The abject poverty of life for those without means in 1830s England is described so vividly that you feel yourself in the midst of the wretchedness with Ms. Holman's characters. The cholera epidemic of 1831, grave robbing for medical research, and prostitution all figure into this work of
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historical fiction. The plight of workers in that era – matchstick painters with phosphorous poisoning, potters with potters' cough, pottery painters with lead poisoning, dock workers and prostitutes and the pitfalls awaiting them – are also graphically pictured. I wouldn't call this an enjoyable read, but it was definitely well written and educative. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2001)
Virginia Literary Awards (Finalist — Fiction — 2001)
Language
Original publication date
1998
ISBN
9780345436917