A Hidden History of Harlotry

The Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies

Between 1757 and 1795, The Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies, a guidebook to London’s ‘light girls’ was the essential piece of kit for a man about town. However, the story of its creation by a pimp, a courtesan and an Irish poet is just as fascinating as the tales of the women on its pages.

Hallie Rubenhold, critically acclaimed author (The Scandalous Lady W), social historian, broadcaster and historical consultant for TV and film including Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, City of Vice and A Harlot’s Progress, has a passion for telling a great historical tale and has a nose for unearthing previously unknown stories from little-known sources. She has rescued the Harris’s List from obscurity and in this ‘after-the-watershed’ talk will share her research and the previously lost stories hidden between the Lists’ covers.

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