Charlotte (The harlot) - Lottie
Born in 1836, Lottie’s child hood was fraught with heartache and unrest. Her beauty had become more of a curse than a blessing as many men, some more forward than others, sought her attention. A vain arrogance took a hold of her wilful spirit and she looked down upon her family, vowing never to enter the matchmaking factory her sisters worked at.
At the age of 12, she took herself off to London, with intent of going into service as a maid-of-all-work. She had heard this was much more a befitting profession for a girl of her worth.
When arriving in London she was greeted by ‘Ma Drudge’, who took Lottie under her wing and offered to provide for her whilst she looked for work. Little did Lottie realise, that her combined youth and beauty made her an extremely valuable commodity. Something that ‘Ma’ was well aware of and intending to take full advantage of.
In the slums of St Giles, surrounded by the criminal class, Lotties chances of finding honest work became impossible.
She soon found herself heavily in debt with her provider, with no way of repaying her for her “kindness”, so when Ma suggested she sell the one thing she had ample of, her looks and youthful charm, Lottie didn’t think twice about it. After all, the work was much easier than housekeeping.
Little did she realise, she’d been manipulated and groomed from the moment she’d arrived in London to be a prostitute. Her naivety of the industry had made her easy pickings and the installed belief that, laying with a gentleman will eventually lead her to becoming his mistress, was an extremely prosperous promise, why, she’d virtually be a lady.
Forever chasing that better life, she can be found on the streets every night looking for her next mark. Lottie is no longer as innocent or pure as she once was and though the odd gentleman will still pay good money to lay with her, it’s extremely unlikely any of them will be whisking her away from the slum she still finds herself in. In fact, the only thing likely to take her away from this life, is one of the many diseases associated with prostitution.