[책의 향기]A prostitute’s guide a must-have for 18th-century English gentlemen?

It was a bestseller at the time of publication.
‘Harris List’ truth tracker
The reporting process is as interesting as a mystery novel.
◇Women of Covent Garden/Written by Halley Rubenhold, Translated by Jiyoung Jeong/456 pages, 22,000 won, Booktree

In 1757, a small booklet called ‘Harris List’ was published in London, England. Immediately after publication, the booklet gained sensational popularity and became a necessity in the pockets of gentlemen. It sold 250,000 copies and became a bestseller.

The official title of this booklet is ‘Harris’ List of Covent Garden Women’. It was a kind of prostitution guidebook that carefully summarized the personal information and specialties of prostitutes. It was a secret booklet that men secretly read before going to prostitution in Covent Garden, an entertainment district. The booklet was full of provocative stories. For about 40 years, until the last version was published in 1795, everyone believed the story. Was the story contained in the booklet real?

The author, a British non-fiction writer, traces the truth of the ‘Harris List’ in this book. According to the author, the person who wrote this booklet was Irish poet Samuel Derek. Derek was vain. I bought several sets of expensive outerwear every month. I only knew how to spend money and hated earning it. He even went to jail for not paying back the money he borrowed.

Derek decided to write a book about prostitutes to make money. However, their identity had already spread among men. In the end, Derek met the best prostitute of the time and a pimp active in the back alleys and heard a more intimate story. He wrote down various rumors floating around in the prostitution district as if they were true, exaggerated them, and adapted them as if they were novels. The author took the title from the pimp’s name to avoid revealing his identity. Publishers stimulated fantasy by including illustrations of beautiful women in their booklets.

The author follows the process of creating the Harris List and critically sheds light on the contemporary society’s view of ‘prostitution’. At the time, most prostitutes were minors and began their lives as prostitutes due to poverty or sexual assault. However, it is evaluated that the book does not contain any such ‘pain’.

As you read the book, you will look critically at the Harris List, which was created hundreds of years ago from a strictly male-centered perspective. The author’s process of delving into the past based on meticulous research, including field trips, is as interesting as a mystery novel.

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Reporter Hojae Lee [email protected]

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2024-09-28 07:21:33