Just finished "The Fashion in Shrouds", by Margery Allingham. This is the 10th book in the "Campion" series, and was originally published in 1938. Campion gets involved in the world of fashion to try to solve the mystery of the mysterious disappearance of the husband of a famous actress. An extremely enjoyable book, as is all this series, but I was somewhat startled by some of the dialogue.
When his sister, Val, thinks she's lost the man she loved, Campion says:
Quote:
'Oh,', said Mr Campion furiously, 'this is damned silly introspective rot. What you need, my girl, is a good cry or a nice rape - either, I should think.'
Val's laughter was spiteful.
'There's a section of your generation who talks about rape as a cure for all ills, like old Aunt Beth used to talk about flannel next to the skin,' she said witheringly. 'This mania for sex-to-do-you-good is idiotic.'
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A somewhat surprising piece of advice to give any woman, that she should get herself raped to take her mind off her love problems!
Surprising dialogue apart, an excellent book.
I should add a warning that one of the characters in the book is a British Consul in an (imaginary) African country, and uses language that would be considered extremely offensive today to describe the inhabitants of that country, so best to treat the book as a product of its time.