Review: The Dress Lodger
Posted by Cathie on Thursday, March 13, 2014. Filed under: fiction, historical fiction, published in 2001, reviewed in 2014
The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman
Published by: Ballantine Books
Our source: Library book sale
What it’s about (from Goodreads):
In Sunderland, England, a city quarantined by the cholera epidemic of 1831, a defiant, fifteen-year old beauty in an elegant blue dress makes her way between shadow and lamp light. A potter's assistant by day and dress lodger by night, Gustine sells herself for necessity in a rented gown, scrimping to feed and protect her only love: her fragile baby boy.
She holds a glimmer of hope after meeting Dr. Henry Chiver, a prisoner of his own dark past. But in a world where suspicion of medicine runs rampant like a fever, these two lost souls will become irrevocably linked, as each crosses lines between rich and destitute, decorum and abandon, damnation and salvation. By turns tender and horrifying, The Dress Lodger is a captivating historical thriller charged with a distinctly modern voice.
Our thoughts:
This book sticks with me, not simply because it is my favorite genre, historical fiction, but I also liked the fact that it was told in multiple narratives. Each chapter was telling more of the story but from a different character's view.
In this tale Gustine is a dress lodger. I had never heard of a dress lodger before but evidently it was a profession in England in the 1800's. I would describe a dress lodge as a young poor girl in a beautiful dress being followed by an old woman. The girl was a prostitute and the dress was to make her look like she was from a higher class in order to get more clients. The purpose of the older woman following the dress lodger wasn't so much for protection of the young girl as it was to ensure the return of the dress.
In the book, The Dress Lodger, Gustine is afraid of the older woman who follows her, referring to her as "The Eye". This image of a girl followed through the streets, as if by her old age, or her own mortality, really stuck with me. I very much enjoyed this strange tale and think I will definitely read this book again.
We would recommend this to:
Fans of Historical Fiction
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