Fraud

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Zadie Smith: Fraud (2023, Penguin Books, Limited)

English language

Published June 23, 2023 by Penguin Books, Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-241-33700-4
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4 stars (1 review)

4 editions

Review of 'Fraud' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The Fraud by Zadie Smith is a captivating historical fiction novel that transports readers to 19th-century England, delving into the intricacies of a celebrated criminal trial, the Tichborne case. With meticulous attention to detail, Smith weaves a tale that revolves around Eliza Touchet, a Scottish widow who finds herself entangled in the life of William Ainsworth, a popular Victorian novelist.

William Ainsworth, who was Charles Dickens’ friend and a more successful author in their early years, is portrayed as a waning literary figure who is fighting to stay relevant. He serves as a symbol of the challenges faced by writers during Victorian England, as new literary movements and tastes began to emerge.


The big trial and the unfolding social and psychological drama are what drive the plot of the novel. Eliza Touchet's interest is piqued by one of the primary witnesses in the trial, the enigmatic figure of Andrew Bogle, …