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Rebecca and The Bloody Codes

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Migoz2 said:
Sir, 'twas an age of fine, upstanding Gentlemen and lascivious, debauched reprobates of cuntry country girls who deserved to have the full force of our just and lenient Laws expended on their worthless, depraved, debased Bodies. I trust, Sir, that you do not intend to perpetuate the most malicious Calumny now prevalent in our degraded times that slurs the honour of Justices and Magistrates who strove to do what was right, always within their strict and noble moral codes. If the slut received punishment, let none doubt that she must, most egregiously, have deserved every second of her fitting sentence(s).


I will thank you, SIR, not to insult us with loose talk of nonsensical 'happy endings' for wretched whores.
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One wonders as to which my indignant friend is more likely to be descended from. (If not both - few gentlemen or magistrates would have wished for lustful girls of low birth to be truly purged from their vicinity - just replaced from time to time, like straw in a barn, once they grew too old or pox-marked.)

Praefectus Praetorio said:
In 1732, the artist William Hogarth produced a set of 6 painting/etchings. They told a story, titled "A Harlot's Progress" (a take of on the very popular moral/religious book, John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress"). After painting a prostitute in her boudoir in a garret on Drury Lane, Hogarth struck upon the idea of creating scenes from her earlier and later life.
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Quite the tragic unfolding. I wonder how the real girl's life compared, if she ever saw the pictures, and what she thought of them if she did.
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
Author's Introduction
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Some interesting recommendations. But while those authors may be renowned, you at least have an advantage in being able to tailor your work to a modern audience, and indeed this forum's in particular?

Praefectus Praetorio said:
​

Chapter 1 Rebecca of Dartford
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A sad tale of one of so many families fallen on hard times. But at least there is some hope at the end - although given what forum this is on, perhpas not an honest one. After all, there are many reasons a man might want to draw a young and desperate girl to a city far from her family - indeed, it reminds me of modern human trafficking scams, which often promise decent salaries as cleaners and such.

Praefectus Praetorio said:
Chapter 2 The Journey to London Town
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Some interesting alternative possibilities here - if she had not been robbed, if she had turned back, if her directions had been stolen as well... But she was, she didn't, and they weren't, and so she will reach her destination penniless and emptyhanded. One can only hope a warm welcome awaits...

(I thought to say that at least she need not fear robbers on her journey, but sadly, a pretty young girl always has something for men of no morals to steal...)
 
KageKamen said:
A sad tale of one of so many families fallen on hard times. But at least there is some hope at the end - although given what forum this is on, perhpas not an honest one. After all, there are many reasons a man might want to draw a young and desperate girl to a city far from her family - indeed, it reminds me of modern human trafficking scams, which often promise decent salaries as cleaners and such.
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Hitting the nail on the head. In the first scene of Hogarth's A Harlot's Progress, the protagonist, Moll Hackabout, has arrived in London's Cheapside. Moll carries scissors and a pincushion hanging on her arm, suggesting that she sought employment as a seamstress. Moll appears to have been deceived by the possibility of legitimate employment. Moll's luggage is addressed to "My lofing cosen in Tems Stret in London": suggesting that she has been misled; this "cousin" might have been a recruiter or a paid-off dupe of the bawdy keepers.

Incredibly, even to me, when I conceived of this story, I had not seen or read about Harlot's Progress. But my beginning parallels almost exactly. It took a long gestation to come into being. Rebecca started at fifteen, a common age for a new prostitute in London in that time, But I had to wait three years for her to reach an acceptable cruxforum age.
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
Hitting the nail on the head. In the first scene of Hogarth's A Harlot's Progress, the protagonist, Moll Hackabout, has arrived in London's Cheapside. Moll carries scissors and a pincushion hanging on her arm, suggesting that she sought employment as a seamstress. Moll appears to have been deceived by the possibility of legitimate employment. Moll's luggage is addressed to "My lofing cosen in Tems Stret in London": suggesting that she has been misled; this "cousin" might have been a recruiter or a paid-off dupe of the bawdy keepers.

Incredibly, even to me, when I conceived of this story, I had not seen or read about Harlot's Progress. But my beginning parallels almost exactly. It took a long gestation to come into being. Rebecca started at fifteen, a common age for a new prostitute in London in that time, But I had to wait three years for her to reach an acceptable cruxforum age.
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Yes, you posted the whole thing on an early page.

And I suppose leaving her age vague would not fit with the meticulously detailed nature of the story. (Of course the Bloody codes were far less selective - one particular hanging offence being "strong evidence of malice in a child between 7 and 14".)
 
minyoo said:
This was too beautiful... Tell me, are you a professional writer? And/Or do you accept commissions for short stories? [U]Praefectus Praetorio[/U], You are truly an artist.
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You make me blush! I'm not a professional, though I could use the money. I have never written on commission, though several of my stories here have been written based on suggestions or ideas from friends.
Mostly, I just let an idea excite me and start writing.
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
You make me blush! I'm not a professional, though I could use the money. I have never written on commission, though several of my stories here have been written based on suggestions or ideas from friends.
Mostly, I just let an idea excite me and start writing.
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Well in that case... Can I be a first of you writing on commission? I have this idea that is not all that different from Rebecca's story, based on the true story during roughly the same era.
 
As I make tentative, early efforts at Singapore III, I have been struck by the remarkable similarity to Rebecca. It will be like Rebecca brought to modern times and transported to Singapore.
You must understand that the idea for Rebecca bounced around my evil little brain for decades before I took pen to paper (actually started pounding the keyboard) to write it down. The focus for me had always been on the exploitation aspect. A young, poor, innocent girl, new to London, unjustly condemned. What interested me was how she would be at the mercy of her gaolers before the execution. No one would know or care what happened to her, leaving opportunity for diabolical exploitation and abuse.
Singapore III finds a young(?), poor(?), innocent (??) girl, new to Singapore, unjustly condemned and thrown into the clutches of evil men (and women) who shall exploit her at will during the thirty days until her execution.
Stay tuned if that kind of thing appeals to you as it does to me.
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
As I make tentative, early efforts at Singapore III, I have been struck by the remarkable similarity to Rebecca. It will be like Rebecca brought to modern times and transported to Singapore.
You must understand that the idea for Rebecca bounced around my evil little brain for decades before I took pen to paper (actually started pounding the keyboard) to write it down. The focus for me had always been on the exploitation aspect. A young, poor, innocent girl, new to London, unjustly condemned. What interested me was how she would be at the mercy of her gaolers before the execution. No one would know or care what happened to her, leaving opportunity for diabolical exploitation and abuse.
Singapore III finds a young(?), poor(?), innocent (??) girl, new to Singapore, unjustly condemned and thrown into the clutches of evil men (and women) who shall exploit her at will during the thirty days until her execution.
Stay tuned if that kind of thing appeals to you as it does to me.
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Young ,poor ,innocent? Two out of three is not bad!
 
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