Trades of the Flesh

A darkly erotic tale of prostitution murder and medical science in Victorian England. Lydia Ketch is a young woman whose life some would call immoral and shameful. But with the death of her mother and the prospect of the obscene conditions of the workhouse looming before her Lydia chooses to enter into the trade in order to shield herself (and more to the point her sweet younger sister) from lifes ravages and give them a chance at something better. Her education working in the introduction house of Kathleen Tanner has given her some very unusual skills and an income few others could match. . When Lydia meets Henry Shadwell a young surgeon with a passionate interest in biology―and in Lydias shadowy world―the chemistry between the two is instant. Their relationship deepens when Henry discovers that Lydia possesses a nimble intellect. He soon enlists Lydias help in his underground sidelines first as a model for pornographic photography: then as an assistant in procuring corpses for medical experimentation. . With the dangers of her own line of work becoming clearer by the day and her newfound delight in her own sexuality burgeoning Lydia becomes disillusioned with her life as a prostitute. . It soon become evident that her trade--and Henrys--are even more dangerous than either had imagined. . Trades of the Flesh by Faye Booth is a gripping novel about the body and its desires from a precocious voice in historical fiction.