Hustlers, Harlots, and Heroes Paperback – April 24, 2014

I thought this was a pretty good guide to some aspects of Georgian/Regency life, and how they work in steampunk-type stories. The author did a good job of explaining what she was going to cover and not cover, and based on other references I have read, the information was pretty good.I also liked the whole deal where she used a pair of sample characters to help illustrate her examples.I got it when it was on a deal, and while I enjoyed it, I'm not sure I'd pay the 7.99 price. If you're interested in the Regency, definitely keep your eyes open for it to come down in price again.I would have given it five stars, but had to drop a star because the Kindle formatting on the Paperwhite is horrible. If you have the Kindle app on your iPad, you may want to read this one there. There are numerous text boxes throughout the book that are all screwy on the Paperwhite, going off the edge of the page and cutting things off.

History books focusing on the details of life are fascinating until boredom sets in. Popular histories often are little more than trivia collections. This book nicely fits between exhaustive research and whimsy. The author covers a wide range of topics in sufficient depth, but consistently directs the reader to do their own research. As the book is intended for writers, this is superb advice. However, this books stands on its own for the general reader. I learned a great amount. The style was light and often humorous. I loved the image of everyone at Starbucks drinking out of the same mug. The information focuses on the "99 percent" who support the glittering crowd at Almacks. The author does get overly involved with late 18th century France, but recovers from this as the book progresses. Her economic information is outstanding.

I had previously purchased Ball's book, What King's Ate and Wizard's Drank, and enjoyed it immensely, and so I had her newest book on pre-order from the moment I saw it for sale. I read it in about three days and it has been read by two others in my household as well.Most books about 19th century English life focus on the Upstairs portion of the Upstairs/Downstairs equation. This is more like the cellar: prostitutes, gin houses, poverty, sexually transmitted diseases, out-of-wedlock births, slaves, freed slaves, and every fascinating aspect of life in London at the time. Of course there is talk of the upper classes and other segments of society, but it's the gritty stuff below that caught my eye.This is a great resource for writer, but also a fascinating read for anyone who likes to poke their head into a dark, sometimes obscured corner of history and have a look around.

I give this 5 stars for content but Kindle formatting sucked for this book - boxes of info passed the right margin & sense got cut off - I had to guess what they said - making the font small enough for the boxes to fit also made the boxes impossible to read - having to constantly change font size was too annoying to keep doing.Well written, easy to read, follow & with lot of excellent links to reference materials but buy the paper version.

I loved this book. I'm not a writer, but I still found this book intriguing- for two reasons. First, you can get some insight to the process a writer needs to go thru to produce a book. Second, this is a great history book!! Such insight at a "boots on ground" levelEnjoyed every page!

Very enjoyable read. Full of information with a light hearted tone. It would ,of course,be very useful to writers of historical fiction but readers who never plans to set pen to paper will enjoy it as well. I enjoyed the author's wit particularly.

Fabulous resource and so well written that it was a blast to read. Tons of useful information presented with clarity and humor. Buy it!

Having thoroughly enjoyed "What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank" I was thrilled to find this follow up. Krista Ball has an absolutely charming way of expressing herself. Anybody who loves reading and/or writing Fantasy, Steampunk or Regency fiction needs to read this book. Hustlers, Harlots and Heros is a fabulous find. Keep them coming, Krista!

An interesting and at times amusing book for any one who enjoys reading about the Regency period.It's very well researched, with lots of tidbits you don'e normally get in history books.

A really run and informative book. Going to buy the other as well.