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Trades of the Flesh    by Faye L. Booth Amazon.com order for
Trades of the Flesh
by Faye L. Booth
Order:  USA  Can
Forge, 2011 (2009)
Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book

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* *   Reviewed by Wanda Plourde

In Victorian England, Lydia Ketch is faced with bringing up her younger sister Annabel and keeping her in school after their mother passes away. To avoid the workhouses she plies a trade that most find shameful. Lydia finds a place in an introduction house. Learning from the men who use her, she acquires certain skills to add to her income. The brothel where she works and lives offers the chance she has always hoped for.

Lydia meets Henry Shadwell, a surgeon by trade. He opens doors for her to sexual desires she never knew existed. Henry finds a friend in Lydia, who has a true intellect and a curious mind. He enlists her in pornographic photography, and as an assistant to help him find corpses for medical experimentation. As their relationship blossoms they find out that there are dangers in the trades of the flesh. Lydia wants out of her life of prostitution and peril.

I found the story interesting and gripping - a little strange at times but good nevertheless. Trades of the Flesh takes you on a journey into the past, exploring what it must have been like for a young woman without the means to support herself. You end up feeling for the characters, egging them on and hoping for the best.

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