The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey

A True Story of Sex, Crime and the Meaning of Justice

The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey
Julia Laite
RRP:
NZ$ 32.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 26.39
Paperback
h198 x 129mm - 432pg
7 Apr 2022 UK
International import eta 10-19 days
9781788164436
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
' A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece of scholarly historical research and true crime writing. ' - Hallie Rubenhold, author of the Baillie Gifford prize-winning The Five' Historical writing does not get any better than this . . . Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving' - Matt Houlbrook, author of Prince of Tricksters and Queer LondonLydia Harvey was meant to disappear. She was young and working class; she' d walked the streets, worked in brothels, and had no money of her own. In 1910, politicians, pimps, policemen and moral reformers saw her as just one of many ' girls who disappeared' . But when she took the stand to give testimony at the trial of her traffickers, she ensured she' d never be forgotten. Historian Julia Laite traces Lydia' s extraordinary life from her home in New Zealand to the streets of Buenos Aires and safe houses of London. She also reveals the lives of international traffickers Antonio Carvelli and his mysterious wife Marie, the policemen who tracked them down, the journalists who stoked the scandal, and Eilidh MacDougall, who made it her life' s mission to help women who' d been abused and disbelieved. Together, they tell an immersive story of crime, travel and sexual exploitation, of lives long overlooked and forgotten by history, and of a world transforming into the 20th century.
A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece of scholarly historical research and true crime writing. Julia Laite explores the sordid world of crime, sex and international policing in 1910 by focusing on the individuals caught up in an elaborate web of exploitation. Readers who loved The Five will find this story and its skilful telling equally as enthralling. -- Hallie Rubenhold, author * The Five * One of the great storytellers of her generation, Julia Laite provides a lens through which we can view the practices and experiences of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century. Along the way, Laite nudges us to think about the ethics of telling another person' s story. Riveting, powerfully argued and emotionally moving. -- Joanna Bourke * Fear: A Cultural History * A careful, empathetic reconstruction of the early-20th-century vice trade, placing the victims at the heart of the narrative and returning their dignity to them. This is a moving and compelling work of great scholarship. -- Sarah Wise, author * The Blackest Streets * Historical writing does not get any better than this . . . Working out from one trial at London' s Old Bailey, Laite provides a vivid account of a globalising world at the start of the twentieth century. Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving, this book is also a signal example of the contemporary political stakes of writing about the past -- Matt Houlbrook, author * Queer London *
Julia Laite is a senior lecturer in modern history at Birkbeck, University of London. As an expert in the history of prostitution, she has written for the Guardian, Open Democracy and History & Policy, and appeared on BBC Radio 4 Woman' s Hour and Making History, as well as the television programme Find My Past.
Status: No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781788164436
Published: 7 Apr 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Profile Books
Publisher: Profile Books
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Pages: 432

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information