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The Dress Lodger Audiobook
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(3.00) - 3,915 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In sinister industrial England, fifteen-year-old Gustine is a "dress lodger," a prostitute who rents a beautiful blue dress from her landlord to attract a higher class of clientele. By day a potter's assistant, by night a courtesan of the streets, Gustine works to support her fragile only child, born with a remarkable anatomical defect.
Surgeon Henry Chiver is a prisoner of his own past, implicated in a series of killings in Edinburgh in which beggars were murdered so that the corpses could be sold to medical schools. He has come to Sunderland to start a new life, but his anatomy school is chronically short of teaching cadavers.
Doctor and dress lodger come together in the filthy, overgrown end of town where, during an epidemic of cholera, Gustine secures bodies for Henry—until his greed and his growing obsession with her child begin to threaten everything she has worked so hard to protect.
The Dress Lodger, a cunning historical thriller charged with a distinctly modern voice, is the book that launched Sheri Holman into bestsellerdom.
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"I loved the narrative voice of this book! So unique and refreshing. The book really paints a dark picture of early 19th century England, making it quite real. I loved the story, the characters, and the style. Found myself thinking about it when not reading. Highly recommend! "
— Laura (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A riveting read...literate, witty, intelligent, thoughtful.”
— Kate Atkinson, New York Times bestselling author -
“Holman seduces you. Her prose, tart, racy and somber, will sing in your soul a long while.”
— Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes -
“Reminiscent of Wuthering Heights…or the novels of Dickens…With prose that’s limber and vivid.”
— New York Times Review of Books -
“If she flirts with melodrama, it is only in the way that Wuthering Heights does, or the novels of Dickens: that is, it is merely the exuberance of an outstandingly generous and fertile imagination. The Dress Lodger is an even better book than Holman’s first, with prose that’s more limber and vivid—and with, appropriately enough, more heart.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Brilliantly stark portrayal of 19th-century urban life, class warfare, cruel medicine and encroaching pestilence...With remarkable breadth and depth, the narrative vividly portrays the human suffering spawned by the early Industrial Revolution...Holman delivers a wealth of morbid, authentic detail, as well as an emotional pivot in her captivating Moll Flanders–like heroine. The major characters are buttressed by a vivacious cast of minors...Holman’s style is risky and direct, treating scenes of Gustine’s quick, humiliating back-alley couplings as well as the doctor’s hypocritical sleaze, with unflinching emotional precision. This dazzlingly researched epic is an uncommon read.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“The appalling living conditions and struggle to survive in Industrial England are brilliantly captured by Holman. Narrator Nadia May is at her best as she narrates this bizarre story with appropriate irony and even humor…These interesting, distressing, and realistic views of some aspects of history are seldom dealt with as directly. A stunning experience for appropriate listeners.”
— AudioFile -
“By turns ribald, irreverent, heartbreaking, and horrifying, The Dress Lodger is the story of those who were sacrificed so that modern medicine might advance. Sheri Holman’s riveting story is superbly narrated by Nadia May and flawlessly produced by Blackstone Audiobooks in this complete and unabridged theatre-of-the-mind format.”
— Reviewer’s Bookwatch -
“May’s reading is delightful. Her remarkable gift for accents makes the entire cast of characters come alive as only a master storyteller can.”
— Kliatt
Awards
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A New York Times Notable Book
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International Dublin Literary Award Nominee
The Dress Lodger Listener Reviews
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" This book was way to deep and complicated for me. I do not like this dark of a book. I don't like the language and I should never take a English Lit class. It would be over my head. "
— JoDee, 2/17/2014 -
" We get it. It's squalid. "
— Susannah, 2/14/2014 -
" I could not put down this book and the ending was a real tour de force, "
— Olivia, 2/13/2014 -
" Good story ... really captures the horrors of what life could have been like. "
— Suellen, 2/13/2014 -
" The first book I read with my book group. I never would have chosen this book, and so glad that we read it. "
— Mhill7857, 2/10/2014 -
" This is the novel that illuminated the need for sensory detail. I saw, touched, tasted and smelled this plague-ridden English village. I loved the book "
— Francesca, 2/7/2014 -
" Vivid historical depiction of despair. Slit my wrists, please. "
— Graziella, 2/3/2014 -
" Cannot finish this book. The writing is extremely dense, the book is grim and dark and I just cannot relate nor even like any of the characters. "
— Diane, 1/19/2014 -
" this is my favorite book in quite awhile. I was kind of put-off by the unknown narrator but was I ever glad I hung in and kept reading. I like the era it was set in. It seems very well researched. "
— Alyce, 1/13/2014 -
" "Compelling historical novel of 1831 Sunderland, England, of the cholera plague, of doctors' "grave-robbing", of a young woman trying to make a living and save her baby." "
— Becca, 12/4/2013 -
" I liked the historic disease transmission/public health side of this book but the rest was creepy and not like something I would normally pick. "
— Carol, 12/4/2013 -
" Ugh -- read for book club. "
— Andrea, 10/4/2013 -
" I really enjoyed this. Not only was it well-researched, but so well written I felt as though I were present in 1815. I couldn't remember the name of this book for the longest time but am very grateful that it finally came to me. This book is definately a re-read for me. "
— Stephanie, 8/23/2013 -
" Maybe the worst book I read in 2007. "
— Jill, 1/22/2013 -
" A decent read. Both medically and historically interesting, not a page turner and lacking character relate-ability. "
— Katie, 10/28/2012 -
" Reminded me of The Instance of the Finger Post and other books of the 'grave robbing for money' era. Friend recommended this because it's such an odd book. Dickensian characterizations. Worth reading. "
— Chris, 9/25/2012 -
" A bit gruesome in its details but interesting view into the evolution of medicine. "
— Sophia, 9/14/2012 -
" This was a thoroughly engrossing book... full of historical details in the manner of Charles Dickens. The characters truly come to life. "
— Nancy, 9/13/2012 -
" Definitely in my Top 10! This is a story about a young woman & a surgeon in the 19th century. Their lives intersect in an unexpected way and it's gorgeously written & narrated. I always look at it on my shelf and want to read it again. "
— Liz, 6/16/2012 -
" I enjoyed the anatomist part though found the narration a bit annoying at times, so for me it's more a 3.5. "
— Julie, 5/10/2011 -
" Loved this book! Very unique storyline. "
— Amanda, 4/25/2011 -
" one of these books that is hard to forget...but in a good way;) "
— Christine, 4/25/2011 -
" This is a dark book. Set in Sunderland England amidst the cholera epidemic of 1831. Gustine a potter's assistant and prostitute, tries to raise a deformed child. "
— Candis, 4/19/2011 -
" I liked it but wanted to love it, and just didn't. I enjoyed the way it was written, and found it interesting but just didn't think it was wonderful. Can't quite put my finger on what was missing...<br/> "
— Judy, 4/10/2011 -
" Loved this book - it was engrossing till the very end. Written in a unique voice and style - it's one that sticks with you long after you've read the last page. "
— Jodi, 4/2/2011 -
" Finished this in a few days - it was a page-turner. A very gritty look at an English town and its residents (mostly the poor) at a time of quarantine, cholera, and mistrust of the medical profession right on the heels of the Burke and Hare murders. "
— Christine, 3/30/2011 -
" I could not put down this book and the ending was a real tour de force, "
— Olivia, 3/25/2011 -
" I absolutely loved this book. If I tried to give an in-depth review, I'd have to declare it as a spoiler and I really want others to read it for themselves. "
— Hope, 3/18/2011 -
" I am finding this a bit bizarre-doctors trying to find bodies to dissect and in the middle of a cholera epidemic in the 1800's "
— Lisa, 3/6/2011 -
" The end was WEIRD and a downer. "
— Laura, 2/23/2011 -
" The best historical fiction! This book transported me to Sunderland, England 1831, in the midst of the cholera epidemic. Grim story; very vivid, descriptive writing. I loved it. "
— Emmilinna, 2/21/2011 -
" i didnt think that this was the greatest book ever. this was a little too old for me and was confusing at times. i didnt like the time period it was set in. "
— Ashlee, 2/14/2011
About Sheri Holman
Sheri Holman grew up in rural Virginia and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of A Stolen Tongue, which was published in nine countries.
About Wanda McCaddon
Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.