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Fingersmith (Hardcover)

by Sarah Waters (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Virago Press Ltd (4 Feb 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1860498825
  • ISBN-13: 978-1860498824
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.4 x 5.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 90,103 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

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". Oliver Twist (which is mentioned on the opening page), The Woman in White and The Prince and the Pauper all exert an influence on it but none overawe. Like Peter Ackroyd, Waters has an uncanny gift for inventive reconstruction.

Divided into three parts, the tale is narrated by two orphaned girls whose lives are inextricably linked. It begins in a grimy thieves kitchen in Borough, South London with 17-year-old orphan Susan Trinder. She has been raised by Mrs Sucksby, a cockney Ma Baker, in a household of fingersmiths (pickpockets), coiners and burglars. One evening Richard "Gentleman" Rivers, a handsome confidence man, arrives. He has an elaborate scheme to defraud Maud Lilly, a wealthy heiress. If Sue will help him she'll get a share of the "shine". Duly installed in the Lillys' country house as Maud's maid, Sue finds that her mistress is virtually a prisoner. Maud's eccentric Uncle Christopher, an obsessive collector of erotica (loosely modelled on Henry Spenser Ashbee) controls every aspect of her life. Slowly a curious intimacy develops between the two girls and as Gentleman's plans take shape, Sue begins to have doubts. The scheme is finally hatched but as Maud commences her narrative it suddenly becomes more than a tad difficult to tell quite who has double-crossed who. Waters' 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 mesmerising. 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



Review

The prize-winning author of Tipping the Velvet and Affinity has produced a new novel full of dark secrets as well as insanity and erotic love. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth and brought up by fingersmiths (petty thieves) becomes part of a complex scam to obtain a fortune when she is 17. It involves her in becoming a lady's maid - these are Dickensian times - and it is not long before things start to go very wrong. She becomes involved with another orphan growing up in a gloomy country mansion. It is an extraordinarily vivid story which conjures up a brilliant picture of the period.
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Customer Reviews

78 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (78 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Review, 1 Nov 2001
By Keris Nine - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
It is 1862. Sue is an orphan, her mother hanged for murder, who has been brought up by Mrs Sucksby and her little gang of thieves - she's a "fingersmith", a pickpocket. One of the gang, "Gentleman", has a plan to marry a lady, Maud Lilly - the niece of a man he is binding prints for, who is the heiress to a great fortune. Sue is employed as a maid to Maud Lilly, to help Gentleman elope with her, and, when the time comes, leave her in a madhouse and take her inheritance. For this Sue is promised £2,000.
But that's only the very beginning of the book - there are many ups and downs and twists to the plot as the novel progresses.

I hadn't read anything by Sarah Waters before, so some aspects of this book came as a bit of a surprise to me. The novel starts off like a cross between Oliver Twist and Jane Eyre, so sudden outbursts of strong language come as a bit of a shock. With the appearance of a tasteful lesbian episode, graphic depictions of grim Victorian asylums, libraries and dark little shops dealing with collections of erotica it becomes less Dickensian and more like the movie "Quills". The descriptions of Victorian London are excellent. There is a real feeling for the dark, narrow, filthy streets of London of the period and of the fetid swill of the Thames. Dealing in the milieu of seedy bookshops and erotic literature, lends the book a further sleazy aspect.

If the plot's dramatic twists and developments are a little unconvincing, it is the author's assurance in the handling of the characters that carries it off and makes you want to believe them. Even if the character-types are a little stereotypical and Dickensian, the characters themselves are well-developed. No-one is an out and out villain - each character has their own personal motivations and these change as circumstances change. We see characters differently as the novel progresses and feel a certain sympathy for each of them in their predicaments.

It's not exactly a conventional plot, or a romantic period bodice-ripper as might have been expected - or rather it is quite conventional, but it's just the twist that the female protagonist couldn't care less about the handsome rougue of a male suitor but is attracted to her maid instead, that makes "Fingersmith" a little bit different. From the reviews I have read of her other books, this will no doubt please fans of Sarah Waters. It is well-written, an enjoyable Victorian adventure, a page-turner with a ludicrously convoluted and, frankly, unbelievable plot that twists and turns just when you think you know where it's going and keeps you hanging in there for the resolution to the terrible predicaments that both main characters find themselves in. A good and very enjoyable read.

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Keep it close to your chest!, 19 Mar 2003
By monlibu "monlibu" (london) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Fingersmith (Paperback)
Fingersmith is one of those rare books where the quality of the story transcends the need for any high brow literary criticism. That said, it's a cracking good read, superbly paced and voiced, with twists and turns to make you gasp.

If the setting of "London 1862" doesn't ordinarily inspire you away from 20/21 century "pop" novels, don't so readily dismiss this book. It's a gem of a plot. Whilst London and its surrounds are as evocatively captured as any novel written at the time, it has more edge, more subterfuge, more emotion, more sauce than most contemporary fiction.

There's much more to say about each location set piece, and that plot, but do yourself a favour; before you read it, don't read any more reviews (shame on those who give away some of the story!) and then enjoy the journey.

If you read one book this year, make it Fingersmith. You'll be recommending it to all your friends for a long time to come.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. Beautifully Written, Enchanting and Moreish., 23 Mar 2005
This review is from: Fingersmith (Paperback)
I was recommended to read this book by a friend and was slightly dubious as i don't usually read period novels. However - how wrong can one be? From start to finish I was hooked by the beautiful storytelling of Waters who has suspense and romance down to a fine art. She depicts the tale of a young Victorian girl in a rollercoaster tale of mishaps, mistaken identity and love. I assure you that even if the idea of period drama puts you off- the unmistakable writing style of Waters will keep you entertained to the very end and wanting more from this brilliant storyteller.
More twists than a 1960's school disco. Buy it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars I have still not recieved this item
Ordered on the 8th October it is now the 9th November and I still have not received this book. I am so completely disappointed and disgusted.
Published 10 hours ago by Jean Henderson

2.0 out of 5 stars Melodramatic and unconvincing
This is the second Waters book I've read (the first was The Nightwatch) and I really can't understand all the fuss that is made about her. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Roman Clodia

3.0 out of 5 stars Not sure
After reading 'Affinity', closely followed by 'The Night Watch', I was eagerly awaiting getting stuck into this book. However, this is a different kind of book altogether. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Helena

5.0 out of 5 stars Turning in his grave
To out-Dickens Dickens one needs a large amount of creativity, a lot of nerve and a fabulous imagination. Sarah Waters has all of these attributes and more. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Shaw

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb historical mystery
Hugely enjoyable. One of the best books I've read for ages. More twists and turns than a fairground rollercoaster! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Cycle Reader

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant enough
There is nothing really memorable about this book without that causing it to be a bad book. Prose is simple, unaffected and undemanding. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Officer Dibble

3.0 out of 5 stars A good story, but far too long
Somewhere around the middle of the book I began to find it becoming repetitive and laborious. I really think it would have been much improved if cut from its 550 pages to around... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Phil O'Sofa

4.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyable - fascinating a must read
I read this as it was chosen in my book club, and to be honest I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, but I was really gripped. Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. Block

1.0 out of 5 stars My word
I have never ever read such twaddle in my entire life. You get to read the story twice from a different perspective. It's so dull, laboured and crass. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Robert H. Thornton

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favourites
I saved this book to read when I was on holiday because I couldn't think of another author that writes so well with such gripping narrative -- a very rare combination in my... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Aunty Pog

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