Fingersmith [Paperback]

Fingersmith is the third slice of engrossing lesbian Victoriana from Sarah Waters. Although lighter and more melodramatic in tone than its predecessor, Affinity, this hypnotic suspense novel is awash with all manner of gloomy Dickensian leitmotifs: pickpockets, orphans, grim prisons, lunatic asylums, "laughing villains," and, of course, "stolen fortunes and girls made out to be mad." Divided into three parts, the tale is narrated by two orphaned girls whose lives are inextricably linked. Waters's penchant for byzantine plotting can get a bit exhausting, but even at its densest moments--and remember, this is smoggy London circa 1862--it remains mesmerizing. A damning critique of Victorian moral and sexual hypocrisy, a gripping melodrama, and a love story to boot, this book ingeniously reworks some truly classic themes. --Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

In Victorian London, the orphaned Sue Trinder is raised by Mrs. Sucksby, den mother to a family of thieves, or "fingersmiths." To repay Mrs. Sucksby's kindness, Sue gets involved in a scam but soon regrets it. From the award-winning author of Tipping the Velvet.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Waters' third novel, set in Victorian England, opens when Sue Trinder, an orphan raised by a band of thieves, is recruited by Richard Rivers, a con man known as Gentleman, to help him in his quest to marry Maud Lilly, an heiress living in isolation in the country with her eccentric uncle. Maud stands to inherit a small fortune when she marries, and Gentleman intends to marry her, steal her inheritance, and imprison her in a madhouse. Sue agrees to pose as a maid to Maud and to gain her confidence. But Sue finds Maud sweet and trusting, and, to her surprise, she begins to fall in love with Maud and have serious misgivings about Gentleman's plan. But Sue only knows a small part of the scheme, and it will affect both her and Maud in ways she does not realize. The intricate plotting and startling revelations will keep the reader enthralled, rapidly turning the pages to get to the exciting conclusion. Waters' gripping, engrossing thriller would make the Victorian master of suspense, Wilkie Collins, proud. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

'It is a rare pleasure to discover a writer as assured as Waters' Joan Smith, Sunday Times 'A chilling, ingenious erotic thriller - unputdownable' Sunday Express 'Sarah Waters is one of the best storytellers alive today.sooner or later she's going to be given the Booker' Matt Thorne, Independent on Sunday 'An extraordinarily good novel' Douglas Kennedy, Mail on Sunday

London 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her 'family'. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue's fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away.

Even more praise for Fingersmith:

'It is a rare pleasure to discover a writer as assured and original as Waters' Sunday Times

'A chilling, ingenious, erotic thriller that's unputdownable' Sunday Express

'Sarah Waters is one of the best storytellers alive today and this is her best book yet. Sooner or later she's going to be given the Booker' Independent on Sunday

'An extraordinarily good novel. Intensely atmospheric, impeccably paced and cunningly structured' Mail on Sunday --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Sarah Waters was born in Wales in 1966. She has a Ph.D in English Literature and has lectured for the Open University. She lives in London.