Book description
In 1757, a down-and-out Irish poet, the head-waiter at Shakespeare's
Head Tavern in Covent Garden, and a celebrated London courtesan became
bound together by the publication of a little book: Harris's List
of Covent Garden Ladies. This salacious publication detaling the
names and 'specialities' of the capital's prostitutes eventually
became one of the eighteenth century's most successful and scandalous
literary works, selling 250,000 copies. During its heyday (1757-95)
Harris's List was the essential accessory for any serious
gentleman of pleasure. Yet beyond its titillating passages lay a
glimpse into the sex lives of those who lived and died by the List's
profits during the Georgian era.
The Covent Garden Ladies tells the story of three unusual
characters: Samuel Derrick, John Harrison (aka Jack Harris) and
Charlotte Hayes, whose complicated and colourful lives were brought
together by this publication. The true history of the book is a
tragicomic opera motivated by poverty, passionate love, aspiration and
shame. Its story plunges the reader down the dark alleys of
eighteenth-century London's underworld, a realm populated by tavern
owners, pimps, punters, card sharks and of course, a colourful range
of prostitutes and brothel-keepers.
Rubenhold proves herself both a keen researcher and a writer who
understands narrative tension...a compelling and ingenious book
Independent Scrupulously researched and cleverly structured... Among the
scurrilous tales of 18th-century low life...this one is the most
intriguing. Daily Telegraph A good story...impeccable... Times
Rubenhold's pages practically reek with smelly, pox-ridden Georgian
Soho. She shows, with a complete lack of po-faced sermonising, the
dangers of prostitution as well as the possibilities it offered, and she
creates a narrative from the interrelated fortunes of her three main
characters that crackles with drama and tension. Guardian A fascinating
expose of the seamy side of 18th century life (awarded five stars) Mail
on Sunday
Hallie Rubenhold is a historian and expert in women's lives in
the Eighteenth Century. She is the author of the novel MISTRESS OF MY
FATE, the first in the series of Confessions of Henrietta
Lightfoot, a courageous Georgian courtesan. Also available is
Hallie Rubenhold's edited version of the original Harris's List.
Find out more about the author and her works at www.
Hallierubenhold. com, and about the series of novels, Confessions
of Henrietta Lightfoot, at www. henriettalightfoot. com.
