The Hottentot Venus

In 1810 the slave turned showgirl Sarah Baartman, London's most famous curiosity, became its legal cause celebre. Famed for her exquisite physique - in particular her shapely bottom - she was stared at, stripped, pinched, painted, worshipped and ridiculed. This talented, tragic young South African woman became a symbol of exploitation, colonialism - and defiance.

In this scintillating and vividly written book Rachel Holmes traces the full arc of Baartman's extraordinary life for the first time.