Hi, everyone. And welcome back to Happy Hour. 欢迎回来酒馆. And finally, another episode of Lulu's TV Picks, 我终于又有机会做一次【璐璐荐剧】这个板块.

I know a lot of you are still recovering from COVID. You're probably staying in bed feeling a bit rotten. But hey, look on a bright side, this is the perfect time for you to catch up on some good series.

And the TV series that I'm going to recommend today is going to be very different from all the other things I have recommended before.

今天的这一期荐剧, 其实我想了好久到底做还是不做. That's because this particular TV series is about a particularly controversial topic and a very controversial group of gals.

Without building up even more suspense, today's TV picks is going to be Harlots.

我总算捞到机会可以来说说这部我非常喜欢的剧, 叫做 Harlots《名姝》, 姝是女字旁一个朱.

In Chinese that character means beautiful women, so famous beautiful women?

Actually, this is a TV series about a particular type of women, they were professional sex workers.

So first of all, let me give you the general information. Harlots is a British American Period Drama inspired by the Covent Garden ladies, by British historian Hallie Rubenhold.

首先这部剧是一个Period Drama, 也就是个历史时代剧. It is set in the 18th century London. So the Georgian Era. 它的时代背景是18世纪乔治王时代的伦敦.

And that was a particularly decadent time. A really high percentage of women were basically sex workers, and Harlots tells the story of courtesans or prostitutes of every social standing as rival brothels, houses for prostitutes, and battling boards compete not just to stay on the top, but to stay alive.

其实它讲的就是两个brothel, 也就是当年的两个妓院以及它里面的老鸨是如何斗争的.

The main characters obviously include the two boards. In one house is Margaret Wells, the intelligent and strategic madam of an up and coming brothel who is determined to improve her fortune.

And her rival and nemesis is called Lydia Quigley. She's the ruthless madam of a posh, more upper class brothel with clients from the elite class like nobleman, judges, all these men with social status and money.

So it's basically about the battle between these two madams.

It also talks about Margaret Wells' relationship with her two daughters, Charlotte Wells and Lucy Wells. They were both basically born into the business and became higher end prostitutes or courtesans.

Margaret Wells, 她的大女儿Charlotte Wells, 是当时伦敦城里有名的交际花名妓, 就是当年 Dunton Abbey 里的三小姐Sybil演的. I really think she is an amazing actress.

Now remember I said earlier that this particular TV series is inspired by The Covent Garden Ladies. A book written by British historian, Hallie Rubenhold.

《名姝》这部电视剧, 它的创意来源是一位英国的历史学家写的这么一本书, 叫做The Covent Garden Ladies.

If you have been to London, you’ll know that the Covent Garden now is a popular tourist central, but back in Georgian era with its theaters, bath houses, taverns, coffee houses, it was considered to be London's center of entertainment. It used to be kind of the red-light district filled with brothels, sex workers.

Back then there was a mysterious little book called the Harris's List. 当年的伦敦坊间还有这么一个自主出版的小册子, 叫做哈里斯的名单.

Now this is basically a list of information about London's most popular prostitutes. Harris and his ladies did a booming trade. So the full name of the book is actually the Harris's list of Covent Garden Ladies.

In the actual TV show, you also hear them mention Harris's List. Now, interestingly, that list was not just a simple list of names and addresses, but it offers a glimpse or even insight into these women's daily existence and their living arrangements.

So basically, this British historian spend a lot of time researching the list and other historical documents. And she wrote the book. And liked the book, the TV series is about the prostitutes how they build their community.

其实, 这部戏最难能可贵的就是, 它并不是以一个单纯猎奇的心态去对这些女性进行一个男性凝视.

It's actually created by women from a very different perspective, it's about how these women supported each other. It's about their hopes and aspirations.

It's about the madams who let out rooms. It's about the lavish parties and dinners and orgies that took place in these houses.

It's about how the inhabitants of these brothels found themselves trapped. It's about how few options they had in a deeply misogynistic world where women by law were the property of men.

It's about what they did with their illegitimate children, how they managed to find love, how they got out of the profession, how they died on the street and how they married well.

Now before you judge these women using our contemporary standards, think about the historical background. Prostitution was pretty much the only way in the 18th century a woman born into poverty could scale the heights and potentially even marry a man of title.

So that was pretty much the only way for them to get out of poverty. Selling their bodies was one of the only means by which they could achieve some control over their lives.

And in many cases, it was a far better option than marrying a man of their own social class and passing their days in absolute poverty and endless childbirth.

If successful, a prostitute or a courtesan could choose her own lovers and make her own life decisions.

But of course, we're not trying to glorify that period and that profession. There were a lot of risks that were going with it as well. Violence, drinking, all sorts of diseases, debt, they could all end someone's career and even their lives.

Overall, it's a fascinating tale about a period of time where women didn't have many choices. Whether you were born into poverty or you were born with a noble title. It's about these women, their struggles, their bonds, and their lives.

As for the reception of this TV show, Harlots, all three seasons have been received positively by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it's been getting over 90%.

我看了一下它在豆瓣的评分也达到了8.4分.

Surely this is not something that I would normally recommend. I personally love the show. 我前几天刚刚二刷过.

The reasons why I would recommend it, number one is it is a costume drama set against rich historical tapestry, 可以说是一部有丰富历史背景的时代剧.

I love this type of series because it always sort of inspires me to read more to do more themed reading or background reading.

And then there's the amazing acting and very round characters. 再来当然是张力十足的表演和有血有肉的角色. 这里面的绝大部分的角色我都觉得非常的convincing, 没有出戏/跳戏的感觉.

And then there's the gripping storyline. It moves on quite fast. Things are happening, left right and center. So you won't feel bored, I promise you.

It also shows the complexity and the greediness of humanity from a female angle. 它用一个女性的视角, 去展现了很多人性的复杂和粗粝.

I always love stories with complexity, things that are not just so black and white because let's face it. Human beings are complex.

And of course, for someone who's a language enthusiast, it does offer very interesting linguistic specimens.

作为一个语言爱好者, 当然这部剧也给我带来了很多真的是全新的词汇.

It blew my mind. I can guarantee you no matter how big your vocabulary is, you can still learn new words, trust me.

And one more thing, I really love the music. They're not going for the very historical feel. It's kind of like a blend of historical elements and modern music, which I think works really well. But then again, it's up to you to decide.

刚才说了为什么我会推荐这部剧.

Of course, there are many things to watch out for. 当然了这种题材的剧还是有很多你需要注意的地方. It's definitely not for everyone.

First of all, it contains a lot of graphic scenes and obscene language. 首先劲爆画面, 露骨语言是一个都不少, especially if you are very prudish and you probably won't like that.

And also for those of you who really like your goodies and betties, very, very clearly defined, if morality is black and white for you, then you wouldn't necessarily like this show, because it touches upon a lot of moral gray zone.

Like the main character Margaret Wells. You won't side with her because she seems to be the main character. She seems to be against Lydia Quigley who is the evil witch. However, Margaret Wells is a madam and she urged both of her daughters into prostitution. She personally sold their virginity to the highest bidders, and that really ought to make her the worst mom in the world. So how do you judge?

On top of the language, the scene, the moral gray zone, even if you can get past that, it still requires deeper understanding of the historical context. Otherwise, you simply wouldn't really understand why things would happen like that.

And language-wise, it uses very specific terms and the accent might cost a little bit difficulty in understanding.

另外就是需要你对于当时的历史背景有一定的了解, 才能够理解剧中的一些情节以及人物的行为. 另外, 就是它的用词的语境非常特殊, 而且口音的理解, 这些都可能对于学习者来说比较难懂.

Nonetheless, Harlots is still a fascinating series that I really would like to recommend to those of you who are more open-minded, maybe when it comes to TV series.

So that ends today's TV picks. 今天的【璐璐荐剧】就到这儿. 大家如果觉得这种题材太过劲爆, 不要喷我哦.

But if you like it, leave us a comment in the comment section. So we can talk. I'll see you next time.