The Dress Lodger

THE DRESS LODGER is an incredible tale. It is the story of a prostitute who struggles to save her sick child, a doctor torn between his conscience and his dedication to medicine, the struggle between the rich and the poor, science and superstition, public and private concerns, all set in England, during the cholera epidemic of 1831. The novel is full of convincing, engaging, and unforgettable characters, including the omniscient, omnipresent Narrator through whose voice the events unfold.

THE DRESS LODGER is more than just a well-written, well-told story. It also provides a wealth of information concerning the class struggle of the Victorian Age, the life of the working poor, the obstacles facing medical science, the scandal surrounding the procurement of corpses for science - including both murder and corpse-stealing - and the institution of the Anatomy Act, which saw the corpses of the poor handed over to doctors for dissection. The author's interview at the end of the novel provides references for further reading on these subjects.

This novel will appeal to anyone interested in the early history of medicine, the mores of Victorian England, or those simply looking for a exciting story.

A work not unlike Dickens'. Very suspensful and gripping; a good period piece that manages to grasp the horror of the poor in industrialized Britain.