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198 reviews for:
The Covent Garden Ladies: Pimp General Jack & The Extraordinary Story of Harris' List
Hallie Rubenhold
3.65 AVERAGE
198 reviews for:
The Covent Garden Ladies: Pimp General Jack & The Extraordinary Story of Harris' List
Hallie Rubenhold
3.65 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
fast-paced
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Rubenhold is so deft at making figures from 200+ years in the past become sympathetic, and relatable...she's a great story teller as well, which is really the icing on the nonfiction cake.
Would have had 4 stars if it had just been more consistent in calling a rape a rape.
informative
medium-paced
informative
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
Very informative and rigorously researched, but I found the author’s glib and sensationalizing tone off-putting.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
I loved Rubenhold's book The Five and The Scandalous Lady W, so I decided to check this one out. I know that this book helped form the basis for the television show Harlots so I had a bit of background to go off of before beginning. One thing that I particularly like about Rubenhold's writing shines in this work and that is the detailed construction of context. To focus only on John Harrison, Samuel Dereck, or Charlotte Hayes would not have provided enough evidence for a whole book. Thus, by expanding the context to include all three Rubenhold has given us this colourfully detailed and well-researched work.
The most interesting part of the book for me was Hayes' story (obviously she's the prominent woman featured). I think that Rubenhold's research into Hayes' life story drives home how women in the late 1800s might come to sex work and then how circumstances resulted in them having to continue in this line of work throughout their lives. The impact that Hayes' sex work had on her relationship with her daughter was truly heartwrenching.
The description of Harris' List in the middle of the text was also incredibly informative. How these women, many of whom entered sex work due to economic, societal, or trafficking were further robbed of their autonomy by the description of men for the further consumption of men was devastating to consider. Although Rubenhold makes it clear that in some cases these women could exert agency and choose the customers they saw it is also clear that should any economic hardship befall these women those choices quickly vanished.
This is a difficult read emotionally because Rubenhold paints such a clear picture of the level of choice and agency women had as sex workers during this period. It is a fantastic examination of the history of sex work and the misogyny that has always surrounded it.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning about new topics or is interested in the history of sex work. Rubenhold takes the reader into the heart of the period and they leave with a much deeper understanding of the subject.
The most interesting part of the book for me was Hayes' story (obviously she's the prominent woman featured). I think that Rubenhold's research into Hayes' life story drives home how women in the late 1800s might come to sex work and then how circumstances resulted in them having to continue in this line of work throughout their lives. The impact that Hayes' sex work had on her relationship with her daughter was truly heartwrenching.
The description of Harris' List in the middle of the text was also incredibly informative. How these women, many of whom entered sex work due to economic, societal, or trafficking were further robbed of their autonomy by the description of men for the further consumption of men was devastating to consider. Although Rubenhold makes it clear that in some cases these women could exert agency and choose the customers they saw it is also clear that should any economic hardship befall these women those choices quickly vanished.
This is a difficult read emotionally because Rubenhold paints such a clear picture of the level of choice and agency women had as sex workers during this period. It is a fantastic examination of the history of sex work and the misogyny that has always surrounded it.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning about new topics or is interested in the history of sex work. Rubenhold takes the reader into the heart of the period and they leave with a much deeper understanding of the subject.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Abortion, Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
This book discusses sex work in the 18th century. If you find any of these subjects distressing you may want to skip this book as these themes run throughout the book to varying degrees.
Sexually transmitted infections are also discussed in the text.
Also, Harris' List is a description of the sex workers for male consumption. It is not flattering, both body shaming the women and slut shaming them. In the middle of the book, you will read/hear a description of the women as they were included on the list. You could skip this section and still be able to read the book without confusion.