Fingersmith

548 pages

English language

Published Feb. 12, 2003

ISBN:
978-1-86049-883-1
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5 stars (3 reviews)

No one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals. Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer." Mrs. Sucksby’s household also hosts a transient family of petty thieves--fingersmiths--for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives--Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, they all will share in Maud’s vast inheritance.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to regret her decision.

6 editions

A fabulous pastiche

5 stars

Set in Victorian era London the novel is a wickedly fabulous pastiche of the overly melodramatic literary style of the period and includes one of the best plot twists I have read in ages. Waters has created a varied cast of Dickensian characters, none of whom I would trust as far as I could throw them, and I also loved her scene-setting. The faded glamour of Briar House, the dingy terrace of Lant Street, and the terrors of the asylum all became very real as I kept reading. My favourite part of Fingersmith was the dual viewpoint. Seeing scenes that we thought we already knew, but now through a completely different lens provided great tension and I appreciated how each character had a distinctive voice so it was easy to follow their take on the story. Occasionally Fingersmith did feel a tad overlong, but generally the writing kept to a …

Review of 'Fingersmith' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Going into reading this, all I knew about was that Sarah Waters writes historical novels with lesbians in them, so what's not to love (if you're me)? The story surprised me a bit, because it was waaaay gloomier than expected.

17-year old Sue Trinder is a fingersmith, a thief in Victorian London. An orphan, she is living in the house of Mrs. Sucksby who 'farms' babies for money, taking in orphans and selling them. Sue loves the folks at the house like a family, and Mrs. Sucksby is like a mother to her. One of the scoundrels at the house comes up with a daring plan to get married to an heiress with the help of her lady's maid and then have the wife sent off to an asylum so that he and the maid can split the inheritance between them. Sue agrees to be the lady's maid and travels …