Hottentot Venus

In 1810 Saartjie Baartman was London's most famous curiosity. Famed for her exquisite physique - in particular her shapely bottom - she was stared at, stripped, pinched, painted, worshipped and ridiculed. But this tragic young South African woman was also a symbol of the abolished slave trade, exploitation and colonialism. In this scintillating and vividly written book the full arc of Baartman's extraordinary life is traced for the first time.