Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Mary Saunders doesn’t want to eke out a life sewing piecework like her mother. She wants more; a scarlet ribbon, to wear silks every day, her own coach. When circumstance intervenes she has no choice but to grasp fate with both hands and attempt to bend it to her will.

A reread. It surprised me to find how much more I enjoyed this the first time I read it, originally giving it 4 stars back in 2014. While I still admire Donoghue’s writing and storytelling skills, I suppose I’m just less able to handle the particular flavour of sadness running throughout "Slammerkin” now. It remains excellent historical fiction, just a little too grimdark even for my tastes these days. ★★★☆☆