Search - The Dress Lodger

This is one of those books you will either love or hate. It is a very depressing book about a very depressing time. I found the history fascinating and the story boring. I had very little empathy for the main characters other than the poor fiance of Dr. Chivers. I did learn some history, but otherwise.. a waste.

Beautifully written but a little lacking in plot, I felt. Historically, it was fascinating. Although the main character is a prostitute, I felt there were parts that were unneccessarily and almost gratuitously crude. Also, the voice was a little hard to get used to at first, it begins in second person. Overall, worth reading for the insight into the history and for the artistic writing style but not for an overwhelmingly great plot.

Could not get into it, so I did not finish it. I recommend the Crimson Petal and the White or Slammerkin instead.

I enjoyed this read...a very dark, haunting original and richly written novel about the Cholera epidemic in London in the 1830's. Gustine, the main character was gritty, intelligent and wise beyond her young 15 years. The style of writing was unique and the book grips you from the first page.

This introduced me to a world I had never known.

Very original plot with lots of historical detail. Very vivid and unusual characters. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered another Sherri Holman book.

I am very interested in the time it took place, 1831 during the cholera epidemic, so I found it very interesting and historically accurate as well as having well developed characters. It's not the happiest or cleanest time in history, but worth reading.

Lovely writing. Historical fiction.

Well written historical fiction of cholera stricken England circa 1832.

I liked it. An easy read. You'll be thinking of the characters when you're not reading.

Fairly good book about cholera in victorian England. How it affects the wealthy, working class, & poor. In between this mess is a Dr. Henry Chiver , a surgeon, a teacher, & a grave robber.

Finished reading this today and I was pleasantly surprised. Although the writing style of Holman - speaking in the 2nd person - was a little disconcerting at first, you get used to it as the story progresses. The story was very captivating and disturbing about the life of a young prostitute during the Cholera epidemic of 1831. Gustine is a "dress lodger" -- a prostitute who rents a dress from her landlord and then sells herself on the street. Interwoven into the novel is the story of Dr. Henry Chivers, a doctor who specializes in anatomy and his quest for human cadavers to further his studies and teachings. Gustine crosses paths with Dr. Chivers on her quest to save her infant son who was born with his heart outside his body. Holman excellently captures the superstitions of the times as the cholera epidemic affects the people of the town. She really delves into the depressing conditions during that time period and the inhumanities of man. Overall, an excellent read!

I could not wrap my head around this book. The writing was just strange. It was like the author was trying to put me into the story. It was written in the present tense which I found to just be annoying. I couldn't concentrate on the story because of it.

Too annoying to continue with it. It wasn't worth it. one and 1/2 stars.

This is a book I normally may not have picked up to read in a bookstore but I am so glad I did read it. I thought this was an excellent book. The characters are so gritty which makes them all the more intersting.

In Sunderland, England, a city quarantined by the cholera epidemic of 1831, a defiant, fifteen-teen-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...

this is an advanced copy I bought at a library sale.

Historical novel with just an ok storyline.

I loved this gritty, dark historical fiction. I found it to be much better than "The Crimson Petal and the White" or "Slammerkin."

Absolutly one of the best books I have ever read, just read the publishers review!