Book Review - Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Slammerkin, noun, eighteenth century, of unknown origin.  1.  A loose gown.  2.  A loose woman.

Emma Donoghue uses bits of the true story of Mary Saunders and how she came to murder her employer in 1763 and weaves them into a completely believable and readable historical fiction novel.

We first meet Mary at 14 in London, living in a tiny cellar with her mother, step-father and baby brother.  Her mother sews piece work in her home to support the family.  Mary has had the unusual luxury of an education, albiet at a charity school.  Mary's eye for fine things and an ambition to better her station in life leads to trouble.  Her desire for a shiny red ribbon, something she'd never hope to own, leads her to trade the only thing she has for it:  her own body.  Mary becomes pregnant in the encounter with the strange peddler.  When Mary's mother and step-father learn of her condition, they turn her out on the winter streets of London with little more than the clothes on her back.

On her own in the streets, Mary is beaten and raped almost immediately.  She is taken in by a young prostitute named Doll Higgins.  Doll teaches Mary the ropes.  They live together in an aptly named building, Rat's Castle.  It's probably the happiest time of Mary's short life.  The girls ply their trade by night and as long as they have enough for the rent on their bit of the Rat's Castle every week, they have no one to answer to.  They sleep when they like, eat what they want, and buy provocative dresses and hats on a whim.  Suddenly, Mary falls on the wrong side of someone notorious and must leave London.

The story takes Mary to the small town of Monmouth where her mother was born.  She is first in service as a maid to a dressmaker, but when her skills with a needle are discovered, she's put to work doing fine embroidery and precise stitches in gold thread.  I won't say more about her employment in Monmouth because I don't want to give away too much of the finely crafted plot.

This is the first I've read of Emma Donoghue's historic novels.  I have another, Life Mask, that I'm now looking forward to reading.  Ms. Donoghue did a fine job of bringing her characters to life and she is especially gifted at writing dialogue that sounds real and reflects the character's personality.  This book hammers home, as do so many historical fiction novels, the utter lack of opportunities for woman before the 20th century.  It is not surprising that there were many prostitutes in the large cities in the 18th century.  One wonders why there weren't more.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone, no matter the genre they usually read.  I'd give this one four and a half out of five stars.