the dress lodger

While I was sorting books last week I came across a trade sized novel that caught my eye among the stacks and stacks of donations. I quickly set it aside and after I finished my work, I flipped through it and decided to take it home. It had already been in the store once, as evident by the small orange sticker on the spine.

The book was The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman. The story is set during the cholera epidemic of 1831 in Sunderland, England and features a young woman who earns part of her living as a dress lodger. She 'rents' a fancy dress from her 'landlord' and then uses this more polished look to entice male customers. In all of my historical reading, I'd never come across this way of plying the world's oldest profession.

This isn't a typical historical fiction read, or at least what passes for historical fiction these days. The writing style elevates this story to the realms of literary fiction. The unique narration alone indicates that this book will demand a bit more from the reader.

Holman covers such topics as class warfare, medical morality, and the grinding nature of the start of the industrial revolution. She features a large cast of characters and infuses them with symbolism.

As with most literary fiction, this is a more difficult read for me. I get too embroiled in analyzing the characters, the metaphors, the symbols and forget to enjoy the story. But, in spite of my base nature to dissect what is on the page, (no pun intended and if you read the book you'll get that comment) I enjoyed The Dress Lodger.