Reviews

The Secret History of Georgian London: How the Wages of Sin Shaped the Capital by Dan Cruickshank

motherofladybirds's review against another edition

3.0

Fascinating facts about Georgian London, the sex trade and its intersection with the worlds of architecture and art.

rachrennie's review against another edition

5.0

Fascinating stuff

bibliobethreads's review against another edition

2.0

I did quite like this book about prostitution in Georgian London, but because I have read a book quite similar to this recently (London - The Wicked City), I found it repeated much of what was said in that book. I would still recommend it to anyone interested in the dark and "naughty" times of London though!

pogodragon's review

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot, but also found it somewhat frustrating. I wanted to pick it up by the scruff of the neck and organise it more!

Full review here:

https://pogodragon.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/book-review-georgian-london/

wyvernfriend's review

4.0

Fairly detailed but this should also be compulsory reading for Regency Historical writers. You can see how companions and guards would be necessary when there were so many people who were involved in the sex industry one street over. This is a book about how basically Prostitution was one of the major earners in London during the Georgian period. That this was how a lot of people made their living, how then as now, the women were often blamed rather than the clients and how some people prospered but for most it was nasty, brutish and short.

Some of it did feel a little repetitive and I really wanted better pictures of some of the black and white images, some of the detail mentioned wasn't visible in the reproductions.

geertje's review

5.0

This book is an absolute brick, a total unit, but as such it also packs a huge amount of information on prostitution in Georgian London, exploring many facets: views on prostitution, prostitution and religion, prostitution and the law, prostition and art, prostitution and buildings, the list goes on and on! I really appreciate the completeness of this work: it addresses cases ranging from the late 1600s till the 1820s. It was also thoughtfully written, with true sympathy for the women and men selling themselves and the context in which this could happen. Truly a great book for everyone interested in 18th century London, prostitution, and the history of sex-work in England.