Book Review: Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
This is another gripping read from Donoghue, author of The Sealed Letter. Mary Saunders, the daughter of a struggling London seamstress, is disowned after selling herself for a ribbon. She becomes a street prostitute in London and escapes to Monmouth, near Wales, when a notorious pimp comes after her. She is sheltered by her estranged mother's friend, telling her that her "dying" mother's last wish was that her friend look after her girl. She becomes a skilled seamstress, but despite being safe and well-treated she still longs for independence and glamour, and returns to whoring to make money for a return to London.
Donoghue did a great job creating likable but flawed female characters in The Sealed Letter. Mary Saunders, too, is a complex character - you have to admire her smarts and her spirit, but you want to shake her as she throws away a chance at security and love for the sake of beautiful clothes. I like the fact that the book is true to its historical setting, but not ponderously written. And while the story is harrowing and ultimately unhappy, Donoghue doesn't pile on the misery in a way that depresses.
