Following in the footsteps of The Birth House , her powerful debut novel, The Virgin Cure secures Ami McKay's place as one of our most beguiling storytellers. (Not that it has to that is pretty much taken care of!) "I am Moth, a girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street, born to a slum-house mystic and the man who broke her heart." So begins The Virgin Cure , a novel set in the tenements of lower Manhattan in the year 1871. As a young child, Moth's father smiled, tipped his hat and walked away from his wife and ...
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Following in the footsteps of The Birth House , her powerful debut novel, The Virgin Cure secures Ami McKay's place as one of our most beguiling storytellers. (Not that it has to that is pretty much taken care of!) "I am Moth, a girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street, born to a slum-house mystic and the man who broke her heart." So begins The Virgin Cure , a novel set in the tenements of lower Manhattan in the year 1871. As a young child, Moth's father smiled, tipped his hat and walked away from his wife and daughter forever, and Moth has never stopped imagining that one day they may be reunited despite knowing in her heart what he chose over them. Her hard mother is barely making a living with her fortune-telling, sometimes for well-heeled clients, yet Moth is all too aware of how she really pays the rent. Life would be so much better, Moth knows, if fortune had gone the other way - if only she'd had the luxury of a good family and some station in life. The young Moth spends her days wandering the streets of her own and better neighbourhoods, imagining what days are like for the wealthy women whose grand yet forbidding gardens she slips through when no one's looking. Yet every night Moth must return to the disease- and grief-ridden tenements she calls home. The summer Moth turns twelve, her mother puts a halt to her explorations by selling her boots to a local vendor, convinced that Moth was planning to run away. Wanting to make the most of her every asset, she also sells Moth to a wealthy woman as a servant, with no intention of ever seeing her again. These betrayals lead Moth to the wild, murky world of the Bowery, filled with house-thieves, pickpockets, beggars, sideshow freaks and prostitutes, but also a locale frequented by New York's social elite. Their patronage supports the shadowy undersphere, where businesses can flourish if they truly understand the importance of wealth and social standing - and of keeping secrets. In that world Moth meets Miss Everett, the owner of a brothel simply known as an "infant school." There Moth finds the orderly solace she has always wanted, and begins to imagine herself embarking upon a new path. Yet salvation does not come without its price: Miss Everett caters to gentlemen who pay dearly for companions who are "willing and clean," and the most desirable of them all are young virgins like Moth. That's not the worst of the situation, though. In a time and place where mysterious illnesses ravage those who haven't been cautious, no matter their social station, diseased men yearn for a "virgin cure" - thinking that deflowering a "fresh maid" can heal the incurable and tainted. Through the friendship of Dr. Sadie, a female physician who works to help young women like her, Moth learns to question and observe the world around her. Moth's new friends are falling prey to fates both expected and forced upon them, yet she knows the law will not protect her, and that polite society ignores her. Still she dreams of answering to no one but herself. There's a high price for such independence, though, and no one knows that better than a girl from Chrystie Street."
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Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $3.67, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $3.67, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $3.67, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $12.99, very good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $15.19, like new condition, Sold by The Book Scouts rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hamilton, ON, CANADA, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Very Good jacket. Size: 8x5x1; We're happy to combine shipping to save you some money. We're also always buying collectible book collections. Contact us for details. We're happy to provide pictures of any and all books for you, please just ask! Signed Canadian first edition, first printing. Signed on the title page by author. Contains numberline 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Jacket is in Very Good + condition. Very minor wear to spine ends and edges of jacket. Jacket is NOT price clipped. Covers are clean and bright. Edges are sharp. No tears or creases. The book itself is in Near Fine condition. The binding is straight and tight. NO remainder mark.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure (Signed Copy) to cart. $16.99, very good condition, Sold by JWMah rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Signed by Author (CAD) 1st printing. SIGNED BY AUTHOR to the titlepage, no other markings, slight bumping to lower cover corner tips, thus Near Fine in unclipped Near Fine dust jacket. Boards, 356pp. This novel is set in the slums of 19th century Manhattan. (1.7 JM HOZ 401/5.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $17.99, like new condition, Sold by A Good Read rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Toronto, ON, CANADA, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Very Good dust jacket. 0676979564. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY-customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. D/j is creased at top spine, some rubbing to upper outer tips. Flat-signed by author on title page.; 8.4 X 5.8 X 1.4 inches; 368 pages; Signed by Author.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $20.00, very good condition, Sold by Hockley Books, ships from Palgrave, ON, CANADA, published 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $23.00, very good condition, Sold by Bay Used Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sudbury, ON, CANADA, published 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Very Good jacket. Signed by author. No visible wear. Binding tight, pages clean. Dust jacket has minor wear to corners. Pictures available upon request.
Add this copy of The Virgin Cure to cart. $28.00, very good condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2011 by Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good+ in Very Good+, Not Price Clipped jacket. Book. Signed by Author(s) First edition, first printing as evidenced by a complete number line from 1 to 10; signed by Ami McKay on the title page with no inscription; minor edge wear; otherwise a solid, clean copy in collectible condition.
