Rating: 
Summary: Perfect, perfect, perfect.
Review: First, I can't understand the negativity surrounding some of the reviews regarding the narration (who is it? it's annoying, etc). Why is it difficult to understand that the dead are narrating? The dead that were buried in Trinity Churchyard. As the Student of Life would say, "How rich!" A wonderful concept.The entire book is filled with tragedy, and seems to play an ongoing game with one's sympathies. We like Henry, we hate him. We hate the Eye, we love her. The ending was simply beautiful. A perfect novel, in my opinion. This should be on a required reading list in schools. Such complexity. And the descriptions in this book will make you feel tired, cold, hungry and filthy.
Rating:
Summary: Simply wonderful
Review: As I practically live in Barnes and Noble, I kept passing this book on the shelves. I would pick it up, carry it around and, invariably, put it down and buy something else instead. This happened every time I went to the store. The book seemed to be calling out to me. When I saw it in the "New in Paperback" section, I realized that I simply had to read it. What the heck was I thinking every time I put the book back? This is one of the best written novels to come out in a long, long time. This is a book that could have easly degenerated into a period romance. Holman used her substantial gift to make it so much more. While reading, I kept thinking I knew where she was going. I figured that Gustine and Henry would end up living happily ever after with a white picket fence and a profitable medical practice. What is so wonderful about Holman's writing is that she does not lead you down the well-worn paths we expect her to. She actually surprises you. She doesn't just surprise you by not doing what you expect, but moreso by leading you down a path that is so much better and more appropriate to the story than anyone could have predicted. Holman truly loves her characters and she treats them as real people, as humans rather than just cookie-cutter perfect people. She allows her characters to be less than perfect. Often, she would have Gustine or Henry do something that, quite simply, wasn't nice or that was selfish, but her gift of writing still enabled me to empathize with the characters. Almost as exciting as the warm, misty atmosphere and well-realized characters is the substantial research that is clearly evident in the plot. While reading, you can tell that Holman has spent hours upon hours in the library researching what life was *actually* like in the 1830's rather than some romanticized notion of women in corsets and gentlemen in dapper suits. Holman is a truly gifted writer who I predict will be one of the most substantial literary voices of our generation. She will be read again and again over the years and colleges will have classes devoted to Holman's novels. At the very least, read the novel for the opening chapter. It was one of the most innovative and enjoyable openings of any book I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: CAPTIVATING!
Review: Late one night walking home, I stopped to look at what was in the windows of a little bookstore in my neighbourhood, and was immediately drawn to this book - just by its cover!! 'They' always say to never judge a book by its cover, but this was a definite exception! It really is very striking. I had to know more and got my hands on a copy the very next day. I just finished The Dress Lodger and loved it. So rich in characters and detail. Harsh and gritty as some turns, soft and sentimental in others. I just couldn't put it down. A book I have told many people about and one I want to urge people to read! Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read!!
Review: I won't go into details of the story line. This book was great!!! I found myself still thinking about the story and characters for many days after I had finished reading it! I love historical fiction, especially based on England because you have all the makings of a tragedy being of the working class!! The truely interesting twist in all of it is the cholera that is spreading throughout all of England. This isn't just a story about prostitution in the 19th century...there is so much more going on in this book!! I keep thinking of the quote on the first page of chapter one. "Grave: a place where the dead go to await the coming of the medical student"!! Fabulous! If you enjoy historical fiction you will enjoy this book!
Rating: 
Summary: The contagion of poverty and despair
Review: Sheri Holman skillfully uses her considerable talent to expose the ugly face of grinding poverty. A cholera epidemic is spreading rapidly in 18th Century England, the first of many such plagues. Preying primarily on the poor, the authorities are unable to isolate the cause. A central and most poignant character is Gustine, a potter's apprentice by day and a "Dress Lodger" by night. A Dress Lodger is a young woman hired by a slum landlord, chosen from his boarding house patrons, to wear a dress purchased by him second-hand. Her job is to make nightly rounds selling her favors as a woman of quality, albeit a prostitute. The concept in itself is dehumanizing, but for Gustine, this costume allows her to pretend to be untouched by the men who roughly use her body. Unwedded, Gustine works two jobs, day and night, in order to provide for her baby, born with his tiny heart almost exposed on his chest. Everything she does is for the care of this helpless infant; he is all she loves in the world. An aged woman assigned by the landlord to watch over the dress, doggedly follows Gustine's every evening, walking the streets like her shadow. During one evening's excursion, Gustine happens upon a doctor, Henry Chiver, searching for corpses for his anatomy students to dissect, in effect a grave robber. But Gustine believes that Chiver is pure of heart, perhaps the very man to save her baby; but Doctor Chiver demands full possession of Gustine's child, something she is unwilling to concede. Holman wields her plotlines masterfully toward inevitable resolution, the shocking choices made by the desperate characters, victims of poverty and their own human nature. This is never a pretty story, rather quite a difficult read, but the author challenges the reader for courage enough to face reality as fearlessly as she presents her truth.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most memorable books I've read
Review: This was simply a fascinating story of life in early 19th century England. Miss Holman conveys some little-known but historically documented facts about the cruel circumstances of life for the working poor during in the early 1800's. How serendipitous it was to find at the end of the story five or six pages in which Miss Holman describes her idea for the story, how she conducted her research, and what she wanted the reader to take away from the story.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Historical Novel
Review: It is quite obvious that Ms. Holman extensively researched her subject(s) in preparation for writing this superb historical novel. From readings and interest of my own on epidemic and pandemic medical horrors sustained since recorded time, one can instantly feel the painstaking effort on the writer's part. The only times I had to put down the book was when I felt I might surely gag from the imagined smells and atmospheres created by Holman's words. That is how real the world of Gustine and the other players became to me. I eagerly await Ms. Holman's next book and have just begun The Stolen Tongue, with complete respect for the author in hopes that I will be equally rewarded with her writing.
Rating:
Summary: transcendent fiction at its best
Review: An utterly absorbing, utterly timeless work by a fascinating young writer. The novel is both epic and heartfelt, well-researched and emotional. One of the best novels of the year. I am recommending this to all my friends in reading groups. I won't soon forget this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and difficult
Review: Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837, and I think most conceptions of "Victorian" fiction reflect the latter part of her reign, so I wouldn't describe this story as "Victorian." I would expect 1831 to feel different from Sherlock Holmes & Charles Dickens' London. Even though I'm sure the author did research, it never felt natural, and I keep feeling like I should check up on the facts. At the same time, I would like historical fiction to explain better, if that's what it sets out to do, whether by footnotes, or better narrative. Having just finished two novels by Anthony Trollope, where characters resonate amazingly with human experience common to all times, I found the Dress Lodger's characters two-dimensional and stereotypical. There are definitely some interesting and different circumstances for some characters, but still they didn't evoke much sympathy in me. Finally, the language was florid, pretentious, and difficult. Many sentences, I had to read multiple times to see if I could wring any meaning out of them. By page 100 or so, I was thinking "Hey, I don't like this book," but I forced myself to finish it. Though it got better, I didn't feel rewarded at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the faint hearted--but a great read!!
Review: Incredibly written book about the unusual liaison (is "cooperation" a better word?) between a prostitute and a physician in the 19th century--the latter of which are not so highly regarded as they are today! This plus a uniting theme of cholera affliction runs throughout the book. The author uses person in a very unusual way that I don't recall ever seeing before. The reader is often addressed as "you" and you sort of take on an initial identity. But then you find you are a whole class of certain people--amazing and effective IMHO.
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