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The Journal of Dora Damage
In the tradition of Sarah Waters, a rich, sweeping historical novel set in Victorian London, about a bookbinder's wife who, to save her family, must take over her husband's business.
London, 1860: On the brink of destitution, Dora Damage illicitly takes over her ailing husband's bookbinding business, only to find herself lured into binding expensive volumes of pornography ...more
London, 1860: On the brink of destitution, Dora Damage illicitly takes over her ailing husband's bookbinding business, only to find herself lured into binding expensive volumes of pornography ...more
Hardcover, 464 pages
Published
October 2nd 2007
by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
(first published 2006)
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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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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
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.
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 wom...more
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 wom...more
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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Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
rated it
Recommends it for:
bibliophiles and women's studies scholars (substitute your preferred term as appropriate)
Shelves:
sex-gender-glbt,
meta-reading
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 firstnovelishnes...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 imp...more
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 imp...more
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
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
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 contes...more
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 contes...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, the...more
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, the...more
Suna
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Victoriaphiles, deviants, Londonlovers and anyone who loves a strong female heroine
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...more
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...more
Hmmm....this book seemed split into two halves. The first contains a great deal of detail about the processes of binding books, which is fine, a little dull at times, but that's ok, i'm a librarian, I like books. And the second half is where the actual story happens, which if you can get through the first half is worth waiting for. The story covers a lot of themes, such slavery, freedom, pornography, drugs and crime, it gives a wide ranging snap shot of Victorian London and the world beyond but ...more
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. :-)
...more
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.
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 meravi...more
Nora
rated it
Recommends it for:
bookbinders, conservators, fans of eww, librarians
Shelves:
bookbinding-fiction
As bookbinding pr0n goes, this one was awesome and way better than I had expected. The author did some serious research and writes with evocative and loving detail about Smells of London! Grungy details of at-the-bench work! Secret societies! Guild rules about women bookbinders! Mutes! Boots! Disease!
Ik vind het een spannend boek waar je in blijft lezen, omdat je wilt weten hoe het afloopt met Dora. Dora is de vrouw van de boekbinder die de zaken overneemt als haar man te zeer last krijgt van zijn handen om nog te kunnen werken. Het soort boeken dat zij krijgt om in te binden is echter nogal bizar. Hierdoor wordt ze nauw verbonden met een groep aristocraten en hun "hobbies".
Historical novel about a woman who takes over her ailing husband's bookbindery and ends up binding erotica for decadent aristocrats. The author managed to work in critiques of women's rights, slavery, attitudes toward the disabled and homosexuals,and imperialism in a book that tries hard to explore many of the major issues of the time period (early Victorian). The fact that it takes on so much and still makes for a good read about this woman's adventures and misadventures is a remarkable accompl...more
It was okay. The subject matter was... well... fascinating to say the least; well researched and well written. But perhaps a bit of a soap opera in it's style? It got a bit long winded at times and had several tangents, but it was okay.
Set in Victorian England, this novel has a Dickensian flavor, but overlaid with a (perhaps anachronistic, perhaps not) treatment of that holy trinity of issues that dominate contemporary literature & scholarship: race, class, & gender, along with a heavy dose of the almost as dominant issues of sexuality. Yet all of these issues are treated with impressive complexity & sure-handedness. The story is narrated by the wife of a London bookbinder who falls ill & is unable to work. She takes over the ...more
This is a peculiar book. I'm glad I've read it as its not something I would normally read. It started off too slowly for my liking, so I did speed read it at times. Fortunately it did get better and held my attention as it threw up a few surprises a long the way.
Dora Damage is a lady-bookbinder who is forced into crafting covers for books of pornography. In this Dickens-like tale, the author illuminates us on the deviance of mid-nineteenth-century England.
It was a gripping read, although rather badly written in places. The historical perspective was engaging enough to keep it on track. If only it had been edited a bit more heavy handedly!
Just finished this one, enjoyed it! Was set in victorian england which i seem to like at the moment. Good themes, and learnt some interesting things about book binding :)
Not a bad debut. Pity it will be her only book has she died of complications after surgery in 2006.
She's a musician as well, and will be looking for her music.
She's a musician as well, and will be looking for her music.
lucky lucy schlachter
added it
Good story line about what one will do for money under desperate situations and about what one with money can do. that's all I'm saying.
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