Unmentionable cover art

Unmentionable

The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners

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Unmentionable

By: Therese Oneill
Narrated by: Betsy Foldes Meiman
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About this listen

Have you ever wished you could live in an earlier, more romantic era?

Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there's arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn't question.)

Unmentionable is your hilarious, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood, giving you detailed advice on:

  • What to wear
  • Where to relieve yourself
  • How to conceal your loathsome addiction to menstruating
  • What to expect on your wedding night
  • How to be the perfect Victorian wife
  • Why masturbating will kill you
  • And more

Irresistibly charming, laugh-out-loud funny, Unmentionable will inspire a whole new level of respect for Elizabeth Bennett, Scarlett O'Hara, Jane Eyre, and all of our great-great-grandmothers.

(And it just might leave you feeling ecstatically grateful to live in an age of pants, superabsorbency tampons, epidurals, antidepressants, and not dying of the syphilis your husband brought home.)

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Therese Oneill (P)2016 Hachette Audio Literature & Fiction Satire Marriage Comedy Funny Witty

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Critic reviews

"A down-and-dirty perusal of the realities of hygiene and womanhood in the Victorian era. The truth behind slimming corsets, virtuous nuptials, and strict morals is sometimes shocking, occasionally alarming, but always funny with Oneill's wry commentary." ( Library Journal)
"Flat-out hysterical (and occasionally alarming).... Read it and be very, very glad you're a woman of modern times." ( Good Housekeeping)
"Oneill uncovers the filthy, untidy, licentious conditions of 19th-century women's lives that novelists of the period often glossed over." ( Elle)
All stars
Most relevant  
The book was very entertaining, but the entertainment was MADE by the narrator. Great choice! Loved it

Brilliant

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Utterly fascinating, Read with humour and wit and written in a delightfully original format, this will go on my list as one of my favourite audio books of all time.

Charming

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This had potential to be a very interesting listen, I just can’t bring myself to finish it.
The sing song narration, fake laughing, terrible jokes, poor pronunciation. I just can’t listen any more.

The author should have taken notes from authors like Anne d’Courcy, Ruth Goodman, Lucy Worsley, Hallie Rubenhold - who all put social history into the sort of book or tale that you can’t put down. This one I can’t wait to refund!

Great subject matter, horrific format and narration

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loved it. fantastic and frank look into the underbelly of a Victorian women's life. excellent performance and witty writing male this a very enjoyable listen

Fabulous factual and funny insight

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A great listen! It’s informative, funny and keeps the listeners attention throughout. I’d definitely listen to more by this author.

A Victorian romp with modern humour

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the narrator makes this book come to life. There is such a humour that is also informative that I have already recommended this to all my friends. looking forward to listening to the sequel.

not many books have me giggling like this one.

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loved this, had me hooked from the start. wonderfully read, scarily grateful to be modern.

hilariously entertaining

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i loved the playful narration and the book is full of fun and dreadful informatio

loved!

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This could have been an excellent view into the personal world of the Victorian woman and it is a very interesting era and the subject matter not really visited before, BUT oh dear, it's written like the author is a stand up comedian and not a very funny one. In addition the narrator has the most infuriating intonation!! Agggh!!! She sing songs her way along the subject matter and frankly condescends to the listener. It was like listening to a cat being strangled and I had to stop listening before I threw my phone at the wall. What a shame, as a woman I was finding the content fascinating but it was written and narrated in far too an American kitsch way.

Sorry just too American kitsch

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Found it patronising in tone, and various facts glossed over, or cherry-picked to fit in with the topic.

Condescending

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