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190 reviews for:
The Covent Garden Ladies: Pimp General Jack & The Extraordinary Story of Harris' List
Hallie Rubenhold
3.65 AVERAGE
190 reviews for:
The Covent Garden Ladies: Pimp General Jack & The Extraordinary Story of Harris' List
Hallie Rubenhold
3.65 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence
dark
tense
medium-paced
Some general light shed on class relatons and sexual attitudes in 18th century London -- mostly a story of men behaving dreadfully and blaming it on women. It is also a geography of the rise and fall of Covent Garden and the rise of Mayfair. But above all, the very individual lives of the three main characters are the subject of this book and it is they who gave life to it, for me: switch off any judgemental part of your mind and you, too, can follow with pleasurable suspense the changing fortunes of Samuel Derrick and Charlotte Hayes. Only the third protagonist, Jack Harris/Harrison, remained a bit shadowy; the author several times called him "enigmatic" and could not find the source material to depict him to her satisfaction. Although this story is told with verve, it's really not as scholarly as I'd expected from an author who won a prestigious history prize for another work. I can't give it high marks for that reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion
Minor: Child death, Slavery, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry
informative
fast-paced
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A down and out Irish poet, the head waiter at the Shakespear’s Head tavern in Covent Garden and a celebrated London Courtesan, in 1757, became bound together by publication of Harris’s List Of Covent Garden Ladies.
A scandalous and salacious work, outlining the names and specialities of the sex workers of the capital- it became a bestseller.
Beyond its pages it reveals a glimpse into the lives of those who lived and died by its profits, motivated by poverty, love, aspiration and shame.
I loved Rubenhold’s book The Five and was totally astounded by it. This book similarly was outstanding. Meticulously researched and written with care, yet is full of tension and drama of the lives of the three people associated with The List. I was particularly taken with the life of Charlotte Hayes and the other women briefly annotated in the list. We get to hear of them only through the prism of men’s eyes and as Rubenhold rightly states, we cannot really know their thoughts on the life they lead or the reasons for it. The men did not care and had no interest in that beyond their own self interest and desire.
An absolutely cracking read, really interesting, dramatic and shines a light on women that history chose to ignore.
emotional
informative
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
Got bored and just couldn’t care about anyone being talked about. Also written in a very detached and slightly overwritten way that ended up being really annoying.