Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

In writing ‘Fingersmith’ Sarah Waters has not only written a fantastic historical thriller but she has shown her literary skill and knowledge by mimicking the Victorian mystery melodrama genre with great aplomb. The story deals with two young girls both just seventeen, one Sue Trinder an orphan and street thief brought up in Borough a rough quarter of Victorian London, the other Maud Lilly an only child also orphaned at a young age brought up in a mental asylum but now living with her rich uncle Lilly (based on real life book collector Henry Spenser Ashbee) in the decaying splendour of Briar a ... more

On starting to read another book by Sarah Waters (The Little Stranger), I decided that it was about time that I got around to reviewing the last book I read by her: Fingersmith. I read this book over the space of only a few days back in September and just couldn’t put it down, despite being on a Shakespeare viewing holiday in Stratford upon Avon for most of the time I was reading it. Not for a long time have I found a book that I found so gripping and unpredictable that compelled me to keep reading as Fingersmith did. It was written in a beautiful way and the story was unlike any other that ... more

Tempted by my first experience of the written work of Sarah Waters, and her book "Affinity", I bought this book with high expectations. The story is set in London, the year 1862. We are introduced to the characters that are to form the foundation of the book fairly early on, and the reader is taken from the lowly "Borough" area of London where Susan Trinder's formative years are spent in the care of a Mrs. Sucksby who takes in infants, and Mr. Ibbett, who looks after the local Locksmith shop. The characters that build up the texture of the story are colourful and very believeable, and the ... more

Those of you who read my ‘Tipping the Velvet’ op will know how highly I regard this author – Sarah Waters, the Booker-nominated queen of Lesbian Victoriana. Fans of that TV show or readers of the book are in for a shock with this one though – Fingersmith is relentlessly dark and emotionally gruelling, virtually from the first page. The book is a whopping 550 pages long, and is made up of three very distinct ‘parts’. In this op, I’m mainly going to talk about Part One, simply because after the end of that part, the plot then flies off on a wild roller-coaster ride with twists and turns making ... more

There's something magical about Victorian London. Some of my favourite books (The Ruby in the Smoke) have been written about it, some brilliant films set in it (From Hell was forgettable, but anything with Johnny Depp in it is worth a mention). I'm not talking about the posh, affluent areas of London. I'm talking about the rough underbelly, the 'Borough', 'Wapping', the smoky dense soup of thieves - 'Fingersmiths' - and orphans and prostitutes. Here, in this mass of seething life lives Sue Trindler, orphaned at birth. Sue lives with Mrs Sucksby - now there's a gorgeous name! Say it aloud; it ... more