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Fingersmith
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July 2019: London > fingersmith | sarah waters | 4 stars and a really fun read

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Idit | 1028 comments Fingersmith is a well written tale of London of thieves and crooks in the 19th century.
Charles Dickens meets Angela Carter (and this spells great story-telling)

here's the blurb
Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer," who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, 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, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways...But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals


Jgrace | 3995 comments I really wanted to get to this one. I've been wanting to read it for several years since I got a $0.50 copy at a library sale. You're review makes me think that it should have been at the top of my list.


Idit | 1028 comments It’s been a real fun read. Full of twists and turns. She made a modern book that takes after the Victorian novels


message 4: by NancyJ (last edited Jul 31, 2019 08:26PM) (new) - added it

NancyJ (nancyjjj) | 11273 comments This is one of the many great books I had handy for the London tag. I just read a 2019 Victorian crime thriller for a bookclub - The Darwin Affair, and I would love to stay with the era and city. That book also had a crime family with adopted (or kidnapped) kids, but it wasn't very loving.

I still have Fingersmith and another Sara Waters book out from the library. Fingersmith was written in the 21st century, right?


Idit | 1028 comments NancyJ wrote: "This is one of the many great books I had handy for the London tag. I just read a 2019 Victorian crime thriller for a bookclub - The Darwin Affair, and I would love to stay with the era and city. T..."

It was written in 2002 you lucky thing


message 6: by Joi (new) - added it

Joi (missjoious) | 3970 comments I've been wanting to read this for a while know- I really like Sarah Waters moody tone and writing.

Fun fact, there's a South Korean psycholicall thriller movie based on the plot of this book called The Handmaiden. It got lots of accolades and competed in some festivals, supposed to be really good. Another reason I'd like to read this sooner rather than later.


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Fingersmith (other topics)

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