Fingersmith

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Sarah Waters: Fingersmith (EBook, 2009, Penguin USA, Inc.)

eBook

English language

Published Nov. 9, 2009 by Penguin USA, Inc..

ISBN:
978-1-101-05390-4
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4 stars (10 reviews)

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 naive 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 …

12 editions

Review of 'Fingersmith' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Cockney thief joins a plot to steal a gentlewoman’s fortune & throw her in the madhouse. Alas, she’s cute. Love, betrayal, Victorian smut & Dickensian chaos ensues.

“What does it say?”
“It is filled with all the words for how I want you.”

The Handmaiden is a beautiful adaptation to Japanese-occupied Korea. But I prefer the original due to the strength of the twists & POVs. The way this book handled their perspectives makes it one of my absolute favourite novels.