The Price of Innocence by Vicki Hopkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a very interesting look at extreme poverty in Victorian-era France and one woman’s drive to survive. One morning, eighteen-year-old Suzette awakens to find her father dead and her estate sold to pay his debts. Only alone and destitute does she realize how naive she really is about the world. After a time she finds a menial job as a laundress in a sweat shop, making daily deliveries to the brothel Chabanais. The owner covets Suzette for one of her girls and bribes her boss to fire her late one night so she has nowhere else to go. Having tricked her in the door, she proceeds to pressure Suzette into becoming the queen of the brothel and hires a gentle Englishman to break her in. The jaded Lord Holland becomes intrigued with her innocence and saves her virginity on the first night, but he has paid for her services for three nights and seems determined to have her in the end. But can Suzette bring herself to the ultimate sacrifice for survival?
**Spoiler paragraph**I have to admit that I didn’t particularly care for Lord Holland–especially as the story continued and he exploited Suzette in her ignorance–and kept waiting for the hero to appear. When Philippe surfaced, I was so happy knowing that he was going to rescue her from herself and from the selfish Lord Holland; however, I wanted more about him and the blossoming relationship between them. I know this is supposed to be the first of a trilogy, but I’d much rather read about their relationship after the marriage and how he wins her heart back than all the particulars of her imbalanced relations with the aristocrat. I read the basis of the next book in the series, The Price of Deception, and frankly I don’t care enough about the characters to read further into their lives if that’s where they’re headed. The reviewers tote the book as one of redemption, but I wanted more of that than the author offered. **Spoilers**
I liked learning more about the streets of Paris and how bad it really was then to find
employment and enough money to survive. Most of the historical romances I read are of Regency England, but obviously most of the stories in that genre revolve around the glitter and decadence of that era, with very few touching on the unappealing and unromantic realities that dominated the rest of the country. Though I don’t read much historical fiction about the Victorian Era, it is truly one of my favorite times in history and I pour over the literature actually written then. More than any other point in history, I find it teeming with double standards and irony and the English Major within me just loves it! This book highlights not only the extreme poverty and high death rate of the poor, but also the opulence of the brothels catering to the rich and insatiable. There are many women within the book who actually revel in their profession and the freedom it gives them, but I was more impressed with the heroine who was disgusted by the whole show, albeit desiring the fantasy more than poverty and death.
As much as I learned from this novel, I can’t say I enjoyed all of it–I prefer my heroines a little purer–but I didn’t feel the sex was beyond the scope of the book and superfluous. There was one explicit sex scene, which frankly wasn’t as descriptive as I thought it would be (Oh happy day!), and the rest of the book was satisfied in simple allusion to the act. There were, naturally, many coarse sexual comments from the sisters of the brothel, but really they served more to create characters and setting than to shock the reader. This is one of the few romances I’ve read that I would not recommend to the younger girls I lend books to. After long debate with myself, I did decide that I find it much less disturbing than Memoirs of a Geisha, which tops my Books-I’ve-Read-That-I-Wish-I’d-Never-Finished mental bookshelf. I’d never read this one again, but it was worth reading.
Vickie Hopkins has a few websites you can view about herself and her books:
The Legacy Series Blog
Thepriceofinnocence.com
Vicki Hopkins author site
I also found some interesting information and opinions on prostitution in this era that you may want to explore:
An Age of Innocence–Prostitution in Victorian England by David Rutherford
Victorian Era Prostitution, wiki with information taken from Wikipedia (but with pictures)
Prostitute Statistics from VictorianLondon.org
View all my reviews on Goodreads
I don’t know about anyone else out there, but there were a few series I was impatient to begin watching again. I’m not usually one to keep up with television series, usually preferring to buy them on DVD later, but there are a few exceptions.
around her, trying to keep her alive until they are forced to relinquish her to the hospital staff—and the waiting arms of boyfriend Alex, who eventually has to let go as well. After a brief scare when her heart stops, we see her in the hospital accepting flowers and visitors, even though flowers would never be allowed for someone who just got out of such intensive heart surgery. She is glad to see Castle but tells him she can’t remember anything, including the gun shot itself, and asks for some time to sort things out. It’s obvious Kate is feeling some pressure and, if you didn’t get it immediately, it later comes to light that she does remember the events, but needs some time to deal with the (unexpected?) revelation of Castle’s love for her. Duh! At least the writers didn’t expect a lame excuse like temporary amnesia to explain why she avoids everyone for months.
Now for speculations. First of all, we fans will allow physical distance between Kate and Castle as long as more information comes in about her mother’s case. You have to give us one or the other—we don’t take static well once things really start to pick up. Second, a lot of times the hard-nosed chief doesn’t always go over well and I have already heard some clamoring for her exit from the show, but I believe she could actually be a very interesting and helpful character as long as the writers play it right. I personally find it really interesting that Alexis is dead-set against Castle continuing to solve cases and putting his life in danger with Kate’s special case and I think this should definitely be developed more. It adds heart to the show when the people closest to the main characters show real reservations and emotions. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone eventually threatens Martha and Alexis and they realize how important it is take this guy down for good. That would be the Hollywood way to handle it, though more realistically it would give Martha and Alexis even more grounds to be terrified. Lastly, I would love to see more poker games and more scenes take place at the Old Haunt.
, and a certain chapter entitled, “Kiki Gives a Performance.”
1) Departures is a beautiful Japanese film about an unemployed cellist who moves with his wife back to his hometown to live rent-free in his mother’s old house while he finds another job. He answers an add with the heading “Departures” thinking it sounded like a travel agency. Once he’s hired, he’s told that the add contained a typo and, in fact, it should be “Departed”–as in the dead. He is nervous and wary of his new task of preparing the dead for burial, but the money is too good to refuse and he soon finds himself acting as apprentice and demonstration dummy. His friends and family soon turn on him, disgusted that he now handles the dead, but he’s found a sense of peace and respect for death that means far more to him than public opinion. The musical score is lovely and there is enough dry humor to break up the moving drama without ruining its passion or beauty. I wanted to see this movie as soon as I saw the previews for it and the film far exceeded my expectations.
2) Ever since I took European history in the tenth grade I have loved hearing about Christmas Eve 1914 when a collection of soldiers from different countries left the safety of the trenches and celebrated together in the no-man’s land of dead bodies and barbed wire. Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) is sentimental and I’m guessing a lot of the individual incidents are made up or romanticized for film, but the story remains moving and hopeful in the face of so much war and carnage. It also handles the question of what would happen to the soldiers afterward, a thought I’ve had since I heard of the incredible event. The music and cinematography is also great.
3) I owe my film teacher for making me watch this film, but I didn’t mind the grade that hung over it, for it was a delightful film. Fleeing the French civil war, Babette (whom I remember as being a countess) ends up in a coastal village in Denmark, the cook and housekeeper of two religious spinsters. After years of dutiful service to the couple, Babette wins a lottery and the startling sum of 10,000 pounds. The sisters know she will leave them now, but instead of immediately scurrying away, Babette offers to cook for them a sumptuous dinner as she used to cook in France. They invite their friends, but all sit around the table awkwardly eyeing the rich food and feeling sinful for wanting to enjoy the repast. Eventually, they begin to eat, no more worrying about the expensive fair or the village prejudices and gossip, but the power of great food to open doors and hearts.
4) Life is Beautiful is probably one of the most well-known foreign films ever produced because of its beauty and drama, so I had to add it to my list. Guido is a delightful young man who always seem to look on the bright side of life (please, no Monty Python jokes), as he cares for his wife and son in fascist Italy. Pretty soon they are arrested and taken to the concentration camps where Guido and his wife are separated. Left to care alone for his son, Guido proposes the idea of a new game to his son, promising him a tank if they win. Guido will go to great lengths to protect his son not only from death, but also from the horrors of war and deprivation.
5) The King of Masks is almost a fantasy about an aging street performer in the 1930s, a gifted master of change-face opera, who longs to pass on his legacy and knowledge to a male heir. He refuses payment from his friend, a female impersonator, determined to pass along his gift only to a male. He buys a child on the black market and proudly shows the lad off to one and all as his new heir, only to discover that he has been duped into buying a worthless girl. Furious at the deception and the dash of all his hopes, he makes the girl his slave, treating her little better than a trained monkey. Unfortunately, he ends up in jail and his girl becomes the only chance he has to escape execution.
6) I know I wrote up a blog post about this movie recently, but since re-watching this film inspired this post, I had to include Jodhaa Akbar. This is the beautiful retelling of a Hindu legend in which the Mughal leader accepts a marriage of alliance between himself and a Hindu princess in order to help unite Hindustan under his rule. They know very little about each other or their differing cultures, but over time they come to respect and love each other. Not everyone is happy with the alliance and relatives on both sides are making plans to overthrow the crazy emperor and take their “rightful” places as rulers. Jalal and Jodhaa must try their best to hold onto the country and save the ones the love from cruel civil war.
7) The Pianist is another beautiful film about the destruction of war and of the blood-thirsty Nazis, though I freely admit I only own the edited version. Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew and concert pianist, must leave his home and friends behind as he escapes the death camps and hides in a destroyed ghetto for the war’s duration. He misses many of the comforts of his previous life, but most of all he misses his piano and the beautiful music he brought to life. He receives help from some unlikely places and manages to survive the war, but it will be hard to forget the horrors he has witnessed.
8)’ A brother and sister are growing up in a small Iranian village, the children of poor, working parents. They do not have the money for many of the necessities they need, much less any luxuries. Through an accident, Ali loses his sister’s shoes and, knowing their parents do not have enough money for another pair, both agree to share his shoes for a while. Life becomes hectic as they race from class, to activities, and back to home, each needing the shoes at different times. Before life becomes unbearable with racing and close calls, a race is announced for which the third prize is a pair of shoes. Ali is determined to win those shoes, but some surprising results come from his determination.
9) I am not normally one to enjoy Japanese-style animation, but the films of Miyazaki are incredible in their scope and beauty . . . and their weird imagination. Howl’s Moving Castle is a fun family film adapted from a novel by Diane Wynn Jones (though less-complicated than the novel). Sophie works in her family hat shop, resigned to a simple life without suitors like her lovely sister. One day, as she is walking to meet her sister, she is rescued from some rather unpleasant soldiers by the great wizard Howl. The Witch of the Waste grows jealous of Howl’s interest in the girl and turns her into an old woman, who becomes a cleaning lady for Howl and his apprentice. Sophie makes a deal with Calcifer, the fire demon, to figure out How’s curse in return for the release from her own. Whether watching the original version or the Americanized, it’s a fun tale with amusing characters and great heart.
10) As a dancer, I have an affinity for dance movies and this is truly one of my favorites. Every day on his way home from work, Sugiyama sees a beautiful woman looking out of the window of a dance studio and becomes determined to try something more than his boring life as an accountant. He signs up for dance classes at the studio and discovers within himself a love of, and talent for, ballroom dance. He enjoys his secret hobby so much that his wife hires a private investigator to discover what is taking all of his time and energy. While I don’t like the ending as much as the American remake with Richard Gere, this story is made much more interesting within the cultural setting where personal emotions are never displayed and even spouses do not embrace in public.
