THE HOTTENTOT VENUS, the life and death of Sarah Baartman

239pp., illus., paperback, Reprint, London, (2007) 2020

Sarah Baartman was a Khoikhoi woman exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the name 'Hottentot Venus'.

“In this first post-colonial biography of Baartman, Holmes uses Saartjie throughout, but musters as much factual information as possible, telling her tale with care and respect” Independent

"Holmes's well-written account of Baartman's life and afterlife shows how an individual who led an extraordinary existence - and was a symbol of her century's tangles attitude towards sex, race and imperialism - lives on" Sunday Times

“Holmes's engaged and engaging book seeks to disentangle the real woman from this web of interpretations... Her research is impeccable... In telling her extraordinary story, Holmes's fascinating book illuminates the forces which dominated her age, and resound in our own” Sunday Telegraph

Rachel Holmes is the author of Eleanor Marx: a life, The Secret Life of Dr James Barry and Sylvia Pankhurst: natural born rebel.