"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Fallen Woman of good family must, soon or late, descend to whoredom."
That's the opening sentence of the new Madeleine E. Robins "hard-boiled Regency" novel, Point of Honour. The action takes place in an alternate reality London in 1810, one where George III never recovered from his madness and Queen Charlotte has been ruling as Regent since 1788. Now the Queen is dying and the politicians are engaged in a monumental struggle for power.
The protagonist, one Miss Sarah Tolerance, is herself a Fallen Woman, who has built a career as an "investigative agent." She takes on a case to find a missing fan and is soon drawn into the political intrigues of the day.
Miss Tolerance is an extremely resourceful woman, and Robins is an engaging writer. Part murder mystery, part thriller, part Dashiell Hammett detective story, and very much a Jane Austin-inspired look at the rigid roles that Regency society placed on its inhabitants and the limited options allowed to those who did not conform, Point of Honour is a constantly surprising and deeply satisfying read.
Not the least of its pleasures is the examination of the whore houses of London. Notice, in fact, the subtle and not so subtle uses of the word "whore" itself; sometimes used as a term of derision, other times in a simple descriptive sense.
Highly recommended.
Posted by jt at October 18, 2003 06:00 PM