Bare Nell

by Leslie Thomas

The story of Nelly Luscombe, a 20th century Moll Flanders. Nelly grows up in Devon and from her early wartime days as a friendly child who befriends homesick American soldiers, to her later years, thrice spectacularly widowed and brothel keeper to MPs, fate's commanding hand is never far away.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Literature

329 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Born in Newport, Monmouthshire, 1931, Leslie Thomas is the son of a sailor who was lost at sea in 1943. His boyhood in an orphanage is evoked in This Time Next Week, published in 1964. At sixteen, he became a reporter, before going on to do his national service. He won worldwide acclaim with his bestselling novel The Virgin Soldiers, which has achieved international sales of over four million copies.

Reviews

[Correen Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was lent this book by a friend so I decided to give it a try. Initially I thought it was ok but then was put off by the casual mentions of how the main character was coerced into situations she should have been protected from as a child.

Despite being disgusted by the start I was bored so I went back and finished it. I believe that it was supposed to be comedy but it is also about 45 years old so what passed as comedy and acceptable then is different to now. The character herself seems reasonably likeable but it's also obvious that she has been written by a man as she stops incredulously to look at her body in the mirror a few times to see how it's changed.

The main thing I disliked was it's attitude to consent/ sexual assault but again that comes from a man writing about a woman's sexual experiences in the seventies. There is some knowledge from the writer that women don't like being touched without their consent but they don't seem to think that women would be as concerned about rape or threats or rape. It makes no sense to me but maybe that is due to the author's experiences.

If you decide to read this book remember it is a book of it's time and supposed to be funny, I laughed out loud once when it talked about how her Dad died. Otherwise, maybe considering going to the library or re-reading a favourite book instead.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed second half of this book. Had to check if written before Cynthia Payne trial and appears was.