The Journal of Dora Damage

Mar 06, 2013 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biblioteca-e-prestiti, inglesi-contemporanei

Sono combattuta nel recensire queste 400 pagine. Iniziamo col dire che si legge facilmente e il tomo è stato pesante solo per i miei polsi, a letto, dopo una giornata passata sulla tastiera del computer. Però la storia, che inizia in una povera famiglia londinese, a un certo punto cambia tono. E lo fa pian piano, senza che tu te ne accorga subito, ma prima o poi si nota e stride un po'.
Dora è la moglie di un rilegatore di libri abbastanza apprezzato, ma ormai in declino a causa della sua malatti...more

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Jun 04, 2008 Renee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay book. About a poor woman in 1860s London who takes over her husband's book-binding business when his health deteriorates. Wonderful setting and characters. Charming writing. Interesting and very unique plotline. I liked it up until a certain point between the middle and end, where the story went into an odd and rather absurd place for me. Because the beginning was all so realistic, with a large part dedicated to showing how Dora manages to make due with the little her family has, when it cr...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Joe Toledo added it

A mediados del siglo XIX, en el Londres Victoriano, la londinense Dora Damage asume el control del taller de encuadernaciones de su marido. Sus primeros clientes son los miembros del club Los Nobles Salvajes, un grupo de aristócratas que coleccionan libros o tratados pornográficos al más puro estilo de la mostrada por Kubrick en Eyes Wide Shut que a veces encuadernan con piel humana. Dora experimentará un despertar sexual leyéndolos, hasta que descubra otros turbios secretos. En este libro, nos...more A mediados del siglo XIX, en el Londres Victoriano, la londinense Dora Damage asume el control del taller de encuadernaciones de su marido. Sus primeros clientes son los miembros del club Los Nobles Salvajes, un grupo de aristócratas que coleccionan libros o tratados pornográficos al más puro estilo de la mostrada por Kubrick en Eyes Wide Shut que a veces encuadernan con piel humana. Dora experimentará un despertar sexual leyéndolos, hasta que descubra otros turbios secretos. En este libro, nos muestran todo el proceso tradicional de encuadernación de la época, rindiendo homenaje a los artesanos que, metidos en sus talleres y rodeados de cuero, vistieron los libros de las grandes bibliotecas europeas. De alguna forma, La encuadernadora de libros prohibidos puede ser leída como obituario de una profesión cuando aparentemente hoy, el e-book amenaza con matar a Gutenberg

Belinda Starling ha escrito una novela pensada para deleitar a quienes sienten fascinación por los libros que hablan sobre otros libros (tipo El nombre de la rosa, o Don Quijote de la Mancha) o sobre la pasión lectora (como Fahrenheit 451, La sociedad literaria y el pastel de piel de patata de Guernsey o Firmin), mezcla esa pasión literaria con una intriga histórica sugerente y hasta morbosa.
ela historia de Belinda Starling, escritora y cantante inglesa, podría ser en sí misma argumento para una novela muy triste. Estaba casada y tenía dos niños, murió prematuramente en 2006 con sólo 34 años. Hacía unas semanas que acababan de extirparle un quiste en la vía bilial, disfrutaba mucho de laliteratura, la música, el teatro y cantar. Lanzaría un disco pronto y recientemente había concluído la que sería su primera y última novela . La encuadernadora de libros prohibidos.

Buscando que leer y pensando en San Bartolomé y la fascinación que me produce el arte de encuadernar, me fasciné leyendo su prólogo. Lo terminé mas pronto que alguien en el siglo XIX hace una tapa con filigrana y estampados... En cuestión de gustos quizá le encontrarán puntos negativos, al final un libro es un objeto inanimado que cobra vida amándolo u odiándolo(less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mainstream, historical

This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.

“Finishing is the way [a] book presents itself to the world and gets noticed; the forward is more like women’s work, for one never notices it unless it has been shoddily done,” muses Dora Damage of Damage Bindings. It’s mid-eighteenth century London, and Dora speaks from experience: her role in the business is little more than nominal. Dora is the invisible brownie of the household, taking care of the thankless, repetitive tasks tha...more This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.

“Finishing is the way [a] book presents itself to the world and gets noticed; the forward is more like women’s work, for one never notices it unless it has been shoddily done,” muses Dora Damage of Damage Bindings. It’s mid-eighteenth century London, and Dora speaks from experience: her role in the business is little more than nominal. Dora is the invisible brownie of the household, taking care of the thankless, repetitive tasks that her book-binder husband Peter tells her are so properly suited to women.

Indeed, Dora is kept so firmly behind the scenes caring for her epileptic daughter Lucinda and managing the day-to-day affairs of the household that she only realises that the business is trouble when the debt collectors come calling–and for a substantial sum. Even then, Peter, whose ailing health has effectively prevented him from continuing his work, insists that things are not as bad as they seem. By not as bad, he means that they’re far worse. With that off his chest, Peter, bitter at the apparent emasculation caused by his inability to work, effectively settles in to wait out the end, leaving Dora to try to manage the family’s finances and keep the bindery running.

But if Dora’s role within the home is limited, it’s painfully so when she ventures beyond her front door. With every step she’s reminded of her position as a second-class citizen, of how few opportunities are available to women, and of the potential consequences of looking sidelong at the way things are presently done. Unsurprisingly, when Dora makes the decision to take over the operations at the bindery, she is met with opposition from all sides–the few exceptions are those who are deviant in their own ways. Her husband viciously upbraids her for her insolence and vulgarity, resentful of the idea that she might succeed where he has not; her trips to select binding materials must be undertaken on the sly; her initial commissions have to be passed off as the work of Peter, never mind that he is presently drowning beneath the weight of a prolonged opium stupor (which Dora is apparently not too fussed about).

For those living in Dora’s era, being female is form of captivity. It’s a method of living that’s largely silent and voiceless, and this is echoed throughout the book. There’s always the threat of being deemed mad, something that carried terrible consequences for women of the time, who could be promptly put away purely on the say-so of a male figure: it’s a threat that encourages silence and obedience. “Madness is a female word,” she says. “‘It’s a madness’ they say, like it’s a governess or a seamstress, or a murderess. There’s no male equivalent, no such word as ‘madner’.”

Although Dora eventually is accepted into a particular, and peculiar, book binding circle, this idea remains. Dora merely handles books rather than creating or even consuming them. (Even the book itself, which is apparently epistolary, has only a single page to indicate that our narrator has had a hand in its creation.) Rather, Dora is to be concerned with the superficial, and only the superficial. This is highlighted by the fact that what Dora’s clients most love about her work is its clear female touch, the use of fabrics and non-linear designs that mark the work as a woman’s. She is told at one point: ”Your bindings are as beautiful, as sensual, as arousing, as full of vigour as…well…as you are.”

Though Dora is initially proud of her work, which provides her with “a result, an object that I could hold, and of which I could be proud,” as she becomes acquainted with the material that she’s binding, she becomes increasingly ambivalent. Her daughter’s words are prescient: “But Mam, what if they’re goblins disguised as books? And when we got to bed they leap up off the workbench and go to the goblin ball?”

Goblins indeed. For poor Dora has found herself the preferred bookbinder of a group of the pornographically inclined. And to say that the work is bacchanal is a euphemism to say the least. “While Bacchus danced amongst them on the table, Priapus, I knew all too well, pranced beneath,” she says. Of course, as Dora shows herself as able to be trusted, her commissions become more and more questionable. “My shame would protect me, I believed. At least, it always had done; we women wear it like a veil,” she says early on. Then later: ”My amusement was my protection, for in truth I was deeply discomfited by some of what I was confronting…I had to convince myself I was fashioning…the pearl around the grit in the oyster; I was making something beautiful out of something ugly.” The more she works, the greater she finds the disconnect between the subject matter of these texts and her own personal experience.

Until, that is, the book hits its mid point and all sorts of rambunctious plot threads proliferate, and Dora finds herself on a curious and transgressive learning curve.

Unfortunately, though there’s plenty of interest to be found in these shenanigans, it doesn’t all quite come together. The first half of the book is wonderful, all precise wit and incisive observation and elegant style, and centres largely around Dora’s efforts to break out of the restrictive role of the female while managing the expectations of her family. The second half, on the other hand, is about as high octane as a book set in the 1850s can be. We have escaped slaves from America, kidnappings, a ye olde fight club, noblewomen ejected from their homes, possible bastard children, arrests, protests, political plots and a final narrative coup that will have you vowing off leather forever more. I, no doubt like Dora, couldn’t shake the feeling that I was getting something quite different from what I signed up for.

Still, Belinda Starling, in what is sadly her first and only book, has created something lush and memorable here. Her London setting and the bookbinding trade are evocatively and minutely depicted, and the theme of female emancipation–both sexual and professional–is thoughtfully and lucidly drawn. Though there’s a bit too much going on here for my taste, it’s for the most part an enjoyable read.(less)

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Sep 16, 2011 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

Bel feuilleton storico ambientato in una Londra vittoriana lontana dai soliti fasti e corsetti. La protagonista, Dora Damage, vive in quartiere rispettabile in una casa le cui condizioni ci fanno comunque rabbrividire dall'alto del nostro Ventunesimo secolo. Dora è moglie di un rilegatore, Peter, che è però affetto da una grave forma di artrite reumatoide. Quando la malattia gli gonfia le mani al punto da impedirgli di lavorare, Dora è costretta a prendere in mano le redini della famiglia e deci...more

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Oct 07, 2007 Andi rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: bibliophiles

Shelves: review-books

The Journal of Dora Damage is a wonderful book about a woman who takes over her husband's book binding business and falls into a job binding pornography for a secret society of London's upper crust. Dora finds herself on an intellectual and sexual journey that awakes her senses and puts her entire family in danger. Starling has crafted a beautiful tale full of intrigue and atmosphere. Sadly, the author passed away shortly after completing this book. Definitely give this wonderful book a shot.

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Mar 22, 2010 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, library, favourites, historical

I am not very squeamish when it comes to taboo topics, so to read something about the delightful deprivation of the Victorian pornographic trade was fascinating. The topic is one I have encountered before but never from this point of view - that of a female book-binder dragged into the business when her husband becomes ill and unable to work.

The woman in question is Dora Damage. At the beginning of the book she is a beleaguered Victorian housewife with a husband who insists that women book-bind...more

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Feb 18, 2009 English Department rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dora takes over her husband's book binding business during the 1870s when union pressure threatens to shut down those who employ women. Though writing is considered a feminist act of self-assertion, that women should write themselves, Dora has no control over the production of texts she binds; she mearly embellishes them - a reference to her exploitation and objectification. This is symbolised in the dresses she uses to cover the texts and further played on in the visual pun between bindery and...more

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Dec 05, 2008 Celia Powell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 24, 2011 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: bibliophiles and women's studies scholars (substitute your preferred term as appropriate)

Shelves: meta-reading, theme-sex-gender-glbt

This book has its 4 or even 5 star moments. But toward the end I started to feel unconvinced by the direction the story was taking. It felt too much like a novel, as silly as that sounds.

At times it made me think of Possessing the Secret of Joy, but that's probably only because of certain slightly similar events. You could probably write an interesting paper about these books. The historical detail and language were handled well and faithfully, so far as I can tell. It's very unfortunate that t...more

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Oct 17, 2012 S rated it 3 of 5 stars

This story follows Dora Damage as she takes over her ill husband's book binding business. A woman running a business is very frowned upon by her neighbours and customers but she needs to make a living to support her child. As money becomes harder to come by, she starts binding illegal pornographic books for her wealthier clients. As often happens in illegal business, she finds herself getting deeper and deeper into this new world of slavery, sex and money.
This book really brings you into the sig...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Dalene van Zyl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dora Damage has to take over her husband's bookbinding business when he gets too sick to work and they are on the brink of losing everything. But as a woman in 1859 she is not allowed to work in that trade and the union will not allow her to do the usual bookbinding. The only avenue open for her is to get involved in the pornography of the era and in the process see the dark underside of the Victorian establishment. The biggest buyers and sellers of pornography are also the judges, churchmen and...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Francesca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un libro che parla di un'epoca completamente opposta alla nostra, in cui tutto era vietato, scandoloso e amorale. Oggi, invece, la pornografia è quasi una cosa da tutti i giorni, non ci scandalizziamo più a vedere uomini (che non siano nostro marito) a torso nudo e il sesso è forse, anzi, sicuramente dei tre il tabù più infranto.
E credo proprio che la bravura di questa scrittrice si riveli proprio nel fatto che ti racconta un'epoca così lontana (il libro è ambientato nella Londra del 1859) con i...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Orsolya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, books-on-books-language-libraries, wishlist

You’re probably looking at the description for Belinda Starling’s “The Journal of Dora Damage and thinking, “Not yet ANOTHER Victorian-era novel based n sex, intrigue, murder, etc” while rolling your eyes. Well, stop being a Debbie Downer! “The Journal of Dora Damage doesn’t follow a traditional story arc, as one would expect.

“The Journal of Dora Damage” lacks a “usual” introduction to the narrator (clearly, Dora in first person perspective), and her family. However, this is the prime case stud...more You’re probably looking at the description for Belinda Starling’s “The Journal of Dora Damage and thinking, “Not yet ANOTHER Victorian-era novel based n sex, intrigue, murder, etc” while rolling your eyes. Well, stop being a Debbie Downer! “The Journal of Dora Damage doesn’t follow a traditional story arc, as one would expect.

“The Journal of Dora Damage” lacks a “usual” introduction to the narrator (clearly, Dora in first person perspective), and her family. However, this is the prime case study for when “unusual” works. The reader is immediately plunged into what feels like a story already in progress; a moving, breathing thing. In fact, the book seems to have a pulsating, poetic, and yet strikingly narrative beat. One would think that being thrown into such a frenzy would not only lead to the prevention of “getting to know” the characters and feeling like important events are missed, but conversely, the reader instead feels not only like he/she is living the events with the characters (and therefore becoming familiar with their personalities); but the reader tends to feel that he/she IS one of the characters.

The setting is also on-par, as Victorian England comes alive with beautiful, descriptive literary language which although intertwined with deeper thoughts and insight not only into the female psyche in the Victorian era but the female gender overall; is still manageable, easy to read, and flowing. As you read, you can hear the rain and feel the London filth stuck to your petticoats (and yet the grime is welcoming, alive, and attractive). Furthermore, the novel is ideal for bibliophiles as process of Victorian book-binding is explained using artistic technical jargon. This could prove to be tedious at times to the average reader unaware or uninterested in the book-creation world.

Some of the occurrences are over-dramatized (I guess this is a Victorian-based novel, after all!); however these help to gain insight into the challenges of Victorian womanhood. Dora is strong and independent, yet not stuffy and knows her flaws; while showing her desperation, weaknesses, and obvious initial fear of living without her husband.

Halfway through the already-compelling novel, the plot experiences several twists and turns which could arguably be described as “unbelievable”. However, Dora’s calm personality (mixed with her growth and confusion) results in the events to be understandable and convincing. Basically, the page-turner becomes even more so.

Despite some of the exaggerated aspects; Starling skillfully and passionately weaves a unique narrative plot with underlying themes of a female’s intellectual, sexual, economic/social, racial and worldly awakening during the Victorian era. This rise from oppression to independence is well demonstrated and yet not overwhelming or shoved down the reader’s throat.

The ending of “The Journal of Dora Damage” was slightly disjointed; feeling like it was dissected from the whole and was part of another book entirely. The writing style appears to change and be altered, while the plot loses some of its magic. At times, it becomes an annoying, standard Victorian romance while at others: just absurd. Simply put, the ending is weak in comparison to the enthralling aspects of book up until this point.

Despite these flaws, “The Diary of Dora Damage” is still rather compelling, interesting, and quite a good book; especially for an author’s first offering. It is a shame that Belinda Starling passed from this world shortly after finishing this book because it would have been interesting to see what else she could have produced.
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Jul 06, 2011 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: litfic, victorian

Dora Damage is unhappily married to a man whose obsession with his good name and the need to "protect" women verges on stupidity - his arthritis (and maybe dropsy?) have made him unable to practice his bookbinding, and when he falls prey to moneylenders Dora must take matters into her own hands, even if that means learning to bind pornography. Lots of interesting characters crowd this historical/lit-fic/romance that was the author's first and only novel - the marks of firstnovelishness (sprawlin...more

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Aug 25, 2009 Annechien rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It takes a while to get into the story and the way in which it's told, but it's more than worth it.

What I found especially remarkable, and something I only noticed once I'd finished the book, was the feeling I got that I'd read two books. The beginning (or rather most of the first half) focusses mainly on the life of a woman in the 19th century and the bookbinding business, while in the end it starts focussing on very different acts (the more bizarre and occult). The shift in focus happens in s...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Naima rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Uno splendido affresco della londra di met�� 800 ottenuto con la piacevole descrizione della quotidianit�� e dei gesti pi�� ordinari della protagonista e dei personaggi con cui viene in contatto. Dora �� una donna colta, coraggiosa, testarda. Dora vive assopita nel puritanesimo del suo tempo, che non concede libert�� alle donne, ai neri, ai poveri. Ma Dora non esita a prendere in mano la situazione quando tutto precipita, anche se questo la porter�� a trasgredire le regole che la societ�� impone...more

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Nov 05, 2009 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sam by: saw it in a bookshop

A pretty good book, though the topic (Victorian pornography) may not be to everyone's taste. I found some areas to be a little too squeamish for me.

Set in Victorian London, Dora is the poor wife of a bookbinder living hand to mouth in Lambeth. Her husband can no longer work, so when she is paid handsomely to bind some unusual works, she does so but gets in deeper and deeper with some odd fellows...

The focus in the latter part of the book is less on Dora's job, but the importance of love, friends...more

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Mar 15, 2013 miffyness rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-have-bought-from-oxfam, victoriana

So this starts off great, nicely grimy in the Crimson Petal/Fingersmith way you'd expect, with some interesting bookbinding geekery thrown in, but it gets steadily more and more absurd until by the end it has all sort of gone to hell, with anachronisms a-go-go and twists so untwisty I honestly can't tell whether they were even meant to be twists.

I can't help but wonder what this book would have been like if it hadn't been published posthumously, because the second half feels underedited, as if i...more

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Dec 02, 2008 Ainsley rated it 3 of 5 stars

This might deserve 4 stars actually...I expect at some point in the future I'll reread it and make up my mind. The premise alone (mid-Victorian bookbinder's wife resorts to production of pornographic books to support ailing husband and child) was enough to grip me, although I was having to work a bit harder than I'd have liked at the old disbelief suspension by the end. I'm sorry that this is the only book we'll ever have from this author - it would have been fascinating to see what else she mig...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Sex! Intrigue! Bookbinding! The last drew me to this book at first -- you don't see too much fiction where bookbinders take center stage -- and so it was with a surprise that mirrored Dora's (albeit not so intensely) that I found myself reeled in by the first two aspects as well. It's a great book; Starling deftly weaves a historical novel where every detail down to the soot stains unfolds naturally, breathing a huge amount of life into setting and characters alike. That same attention to detail...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Camilla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ho trovato questo libro particolare, intrigante e davvero ben scritto.
Inizia lento, con il susseguirsi di vicende che sembrano non dicano niente in tutto, finchè a metà del libro si fa tutto più veloce, tutto si svolge in modo frenetico e davvero imprevedibile. Fino al finale che lascia increduli.

La storia si svolge in una Londra ottocentesca in cui le apparenze sono tutto, in cui è l'uomo a portare a casa il pane ed in cui le superstizioni sono molto sentite. In questo contesto la figura di Do...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Well, as the rating indicates, I really liked it. (And for those of you wondering why it took me so long to finish it, as it's been on my "currently reading" list forever, the answer is: it didn't take me that long, I just delayed updating my info as I wanted to write a thoughtful review, and life was in the way.)

If you like stories set in Victorian London, and/or if you like stories about strong female characters who are nevertheless hemmed in by cultural circumstances, then you will like this...more Well, as the rating indicates, I really liked it. (And for those of you wondering why it took me so long to finish it, as it's been on my "currently reading" list forever, the answer is: it didn't take me that long, I just delayed updating my info as I wanted to write a thoughtful review, and life was in the way.)

If you like stories set in Victorian London, and/or if you like stories about strong female characters who are nevertheless hemmed in by cultural circumstances, then you will like this book. Dora is hard-working, capable, and practical -- qualities that are entirely overlooked by her husband and recognized but exploited by his associates. When Dora's husband becomes too ill to work in his small book-binding business, she is forced to take over its operation just to stay solvent. (And in this case, interpret "solvent" in the Victorian sense, i.e., keeping food in your belly, a roof over your head, and your family out of debtor's prison.) Apparently, the fact that a WOMAN would dare to bind books was not only scandalizing, but illegal, since Dora was not a member of the trade union. Once the shadier element in the book-binding business gets wind of this information, Dora is reluctantly drawn into the lucrative but appalling business of binding volumes of lurid pornography for well-heeled, noble "collectors."

To tell you how she finally extricates herself from this situation would require me to invoke the spoiler alert, which I don't want to do. But I do recommend it as a good read with a satisfying conclusion that does not require Dora to ride off into the sunset with a handsome hero. (This is not a romance novel, though Dora does find love for a time, as well as some really satisfying sex. Though this is not one of the pornographic novels she is binding, either. (-:) Along the way, the reader learns about some of the lesser-known features of Victorian society and a whole lot about the amount of work it took to bind a book by hand. (No wonder only the wealthy could afford them!)

So, if the subject matter appeals to you, this book is worth your time. And, Karen, I am saving it for you!

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Mar 30, 2011 Suna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Victoriaphiles, deviants, Londonlovers and anyone who loves a strong female heroine

Shelves: historic-fiction, strong-women, sexuality, books-about-books

It's very good, though it could have done with some minuscule touches of tasteful editing here and there to make it completely brilliant, which is why it doesn't get full marks.
Knowing that the author died shortly after finishing, I suspect it's possible that those around her wished to have it published as close to the way she'd written it as possible.
From an emotional point of view, I know that would certainly have been my urge if I'd just lost someone way before their and my time and this was...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Hazel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very promising first half. Starling has a nice touch with the prose, and is convincing on Dora's Victorian world. She's clearly done her research, and it was fascinating to learn about the craft of book-binding. I think in our age of mass-production, books have lost their uniqueness and individual worth. I love the idea of getting a bespoke binding for a favourite volume. I love the idea of the binder choosing materials to suit the book's content and the character of the reader. I want one. :-)

I...more

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Aug 11, 2009 Phil rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a nice fun read. The book tells the story of a woman in Victorian England who replaces her husband in his bindery when he becomes crippled with arthritis and the family is faced with ruin. The characters are all really engaging and draw you into the story. This is a rich, emotional book that asks a lot of questions about oppression and oppressors. I thought the ending was a bit vague and confusing but it didnt matter, this book was just flat-out fun to read.

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Jan 17, 2012 Pythia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: storia

Sarà che ho letto così tanti libri che ormai è difficile che un racconto mi sorprenda: intuisco fin troppo facilmente gli sviluppi delle trame e così mi "guasto" la lettura. Così è stato per questo romanzo: alcuni episodi li ho trovati un po' scontati, ma devo dire che in altri punti sono stata piacevolmente sorpresa. La trama è avvincente, la caratterizzazione dei personaggi li rende quasi vivi, le atmosfere della Londra del XIX secolo sono perfette. Si legge di un fiato: è una meraviglia.

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Apr 09, 2013 Daniela Mastropasqua rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Devo dir la verità, prima di mettermi qui a scrivere ho dato un'occhiata alle recensioni su questo romanzo, e con mio stupore mi sono resa conto che sono molto positive. Io ho impiegato una vita a finirlo, a causa dei vari impegni, ma per le prime 100 pagine l'ho trovato molto noioso, poi un po' ripetitivo. Insomma, non sono stata presa da tutta questa suspence per le vicende di questa coraggiosa donna di metà 800.

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Jul 06, 2012 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a beautifully crafted book that follows the trials faced by the widow of a bookbinder (Dora Damage) to scrape a living together for her and her daughter. In desperation she agrees to bind pornographic material (yes, they had it back in the mid 1800s!) for some very dodgey characters. Dora is one of the most likeable heroines that I can remember.

Sadly the author of this novel died, in her mid 30s, soon after it was accepted for publication.

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Aug 20, 2012 Alexander rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: english-fiction, historical-fiction, library

A very nice read with unusual, but interesting and very real characters. It's such a shame Belinda Starling passed away so shortly after finishing this debut novel - I would have loved to read more of her stories. Because the story seemed to slack here and there, I don't think I'll be re-reading this book, but I won't easily forget it either as I enjoyed it thoroughly. The ending surprised me pleasantly as well.

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/912021.The_Journal_of_Dora_Damage?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312054165l/912021.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/912021.The_Journal_of_Dora_Damage?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Journal of Dora Damage by Belinda Starling[/url]

The Journal of Dora Damage

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The Journal of Dora Damage

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