African Queen

January 1, 2007
A celebrated "human curiosity," exhibited in 1810 in London and Paris for her larger-than-average posterior, the so-called Hottentot Venus, Saartjie Baartmen, is delivered once and for all by Holmes (Scanty Particulars ) from the forces of sentimental primitivism, imperialism and scientific racism that so determined her life. Academics will recognize Holmes as one of their own (she is a former professor of English at the universities of London and Sussex); this book is liberally salted with the language of feminist, psychoanalytic and postcolonial theory (here is how Holmes explains Saartjie's susceptibility to exploitation at the hands of men: " relationship with paternalistic figures was shadowed by her unresolved attachment to an idealized father, snatched from her at the point she most needed and respected him, and before she had cause to rebel against him"). But the book is propelled along by the inherent interest of Saartjie's story and Holmes's clear affection for her subject. Particularly close attention is given to Saartjie's declining years and her gruesome posthumous treatment at the hands of French scientist Cuvier, whose macabre fascination with Saartjie inspires some of the book's most engaging prose.

December 1, 2006
Former University of London professor Holmes ("Scanty Particulars") has written a powerful and engrossing biography of the woman known as the "Hottentot Venus." Saartjie Baartman was born in 1789 to the South African Khoisan clan. This well-researched book exposes the European colonial attitudes toward Africa and the racist exploitation of this woman. Promised a life of riches, Saartjie was sent to London, then Paris, to be paraded before mobs for her shapely bodily features (buttocks and genitalia), which were common to Khoisan women and an object of prurient curiosity to Europeans. She died in Paris in 1815 only to suffer further disgraceful treatment when her body was carved up by Napoleon Bonaparte's surgeon after he had made a cast of her body. Her skeleton, preserved genitals, and brain were on display in Paris's Musée de l'Homme as late as 1974. In 2002, after a formal request from South African President Nelson Mandela, she was returned to the land of her birth for burial. Recommended for all libraries because Holmes has candidly exposed this full story, about which Stephen Jay Gould wrote more briefly over 20 years ago in "The Flamingo's Smile." Holmes has given Saartjie back her heart and soul.Mary C. Allen, Everett P.L., Bothell, WA

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2006
Saartjie Baartman, a young South African woman, was brought to London in 1810 and displayed seminude as she danced suggestively to show off to best effect her ample bottom, earning her the name Hottentot Venus. Her public display and ultimate study by scientists long ago gained her iconic status as a symbol of European fascination with African sexuality. Holmes, author of " Scanty "Particulars (2003), explores the zeitgeist of Britain in the early 1800s, when Europeans were fascinated with the human behind and grappling with notions about race, sex, and colonialism. Holmes draws on press reports, ballads, and advertisements of the day that ridiculed Baartman as well as prominent politician Lord Grenville, who was similarly endowed. Baartman, abused by her manager and the public, attracted the attention of abolitionists, who saw in her a cause celebre to challenge provisions of the British constitution regarding slavery. Using fresh archival research, Holmes offers a definitive portrait of a woman whose remains--on museum display for generations--were only recently returned to South Africa for final burial. This is a probing look at historical racism and sexual exploitation presented through the life of an extraordinary woman.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)