New Releases by Sarah Waters

女同志文學教主級作家莎拉‧華特絲開創新格局作品 自《輕舔絲絨》問世之後，新型態的小說於焉誕生！ 為了愛另一個女人， 她選擇走上一條沒有人走過的路。 ★誰是莎拉．華特絲？★ ──她是為女同志文學奠定里程碑的教主級人物── 英國封建時代女同志情欲書寫第一人 打破身體、階級、性別疆界的反叛天才 ──她是榮獲五大文學獎教主級作家── 毛姆文學獎、CWA歷史犯罪小說匕首獎、浪達同志文學小說獎、石牆圖書獎、詹姆斯・泰特・布萊克紀念文學獎 純文學、歷史小說、犯罪小說、同志文學四領域一致肯定 ──她是文學獎、媒體選書、影視改編清單的常見名字── 三度獲曼布克獎決選入圍、兩度獲柑橘文學獎決選入圍 數度名列百大小說、重量媒體年度作家 每部作品皆獲影視界青睞改編 Goodreads網站70,000人以上留評、全球超過20國出版其作品 ◎全新完整新譯繁體中文版 ◎完整收錄作者創作年表、作品大事紀 ▍內容簡介 看看穿了男裝的我，妳認為我是男人？還是女人？ 而我愛的，又是男人？還是女人？ 如果妳打算壓抑欲望，那只會讓欲望更加強烈…… 賣牡蠣的女孩南西愛上了男裝女演員凱蒂，於是一路追隨偶像，開始了倫敦的大都會生活。在劇場後台前後穿梭的歲月裡，她意外發現自己竟也有扮演男性的天分，因而看見自己內心深不可測的情欲，竟是凱蒂不願回應的禁忌。愛人的軟弱狠狠地背叛了她，與凱蒂決裂的那一天，南西也正式與劇場事業告別，闖入了險惡的倫敦街頭。為了謀生，她被迫一夜長大；為了忠於自我，她踏上情欲冒險之路；為了追尋真正的愛，她不惜一次又一次，放棄全世界…… 本書為莎拉．華特絲震驚文壇的出道作，無所畏懼的愛情歷險情節曲折，節奏明快，維多利亞時代的倫敦街頭與劇場後台的繁複細節更構成一幅五光十色的奇觀。本書問世後咸認成功跨越歷史小說、大眾小說、同志文學、成長小說等藩籬，小說中獨樹一幟的維多利亞時代風華與情欲觀，更讓全世界的讀者從此記住了華特絲的名字！ ▍重要媒體一致讚譽 無論是音樂廳的破落、俏皮的男裝女孩引發的轉變，或是南西如星辰般純真的初戀，本書令人窒息的熱情幾乎難以言語形容。——《紐約時報》 莎拉・華特絲的出道之作提供了絕佳的娛樂體驗：節奏敏捷，充滿了一八九〇年代倫敦繽紛的生動描寫，以及宛如狄更斯筆下人物般，活靈活現的配角。——《柯克斯書評》 這會是新類型的誕生嗎？情色而幽默的女同性戀「流浪漢小說」？實在太動人了！——《星期日獨立報》 故事一開頭，讀者便因豐富的細節和歷歷在目的氛圍，宛如置身維多利亞時代。彷彿能感覺到粗糙的牡蠣殼、聽見煤氣燈的嘶嘶聲、聞到汗水和油漆味，並嘗到刺激的滋味⋯⋯毫無冷場的好作品！ ——《歷史小說評論》 情節豐富、情色、大膽的處女作，沉浸在襤褸劇院的往日榮光。 ——《婦女雜誌》 此書可能是同類型作品中繼《柳橙不是唯一的水果》作者珍奈・溫特森之後最重要的出道作。 ——《每日電訊報》

A revised edition of the publisher’s inaugural publication in 1990, which won the Pandora Award from Women-in-Publishing. Inspirational in its original format, this new edition features poems, stories, essays and interviews with 30 + women writers, both emerging authors and luminaries of contemporary literature such as: – Choices: The Writing of Possession by A.S. Byatt – Becoming a Writer by Saskia Calliste – Jenny – a song by April de Angelis – Interview with Kit de Waal – Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy – Let the World Burn through you by Sian Evans – Early Women Writers by Philippa Gregory – The Creative Process by Mary Hamer – The Writing Life by Jackie Kay – Screen Diversity by Shuchi Kothari – Writing Plays by Bryony Lavery – The Novelist as Wanderer by Annee Lawrence – Interview with Roseanne Liang – Mei Kwei, I love you by Suchen Christine Lim – The Badminton Court by Jaki McCarrick – Interview with Laura Miles – The Motherload by Raman Mundair – The Feminist Library by Magda Oldziejewska – Fortune Favours The Brave... by Kaite O’Reilly – Interview with Jacqueline Pepall – The Art of Translation by Gabi Reigh – Conditions of Amefricanity -Djamila Ribeiro – Inspiration: Where does it come from? by Fiona Rintoul – Interview with Jasvinder Sanghera – A Room of One’s Own ...or Not? by Anne Sebba – Being a Feminist Writer by Kalista Sy – Mslexia by Debbie Taylor – My Mother, Reading a Novel by Madeleine Thien – Interview with Clare Tomalin – Fortune by Ida Vitale, transl. Tanya Huntington – Interview with Sarah Waters – Virginia Woolf...100 years on by Emma Woolf Includes the original writing workshops plus illustrations from contemporary and vintage illustrators. Guest editor Ann Sandham has compiled the new collection. Reviews: The Women Writers Handbook is a superb, powerful collection of writings from 30 women that are considered to be the emerging authors and luminaries of contemporary fiction, from Carol Ann Duffy to Kit De Waal. With its short chapters, background to who the author is and with 20% of all profits going towards the campaign for a full-sized statue of Virginia Woolf, the first in the UK, it is absolutely a book to buy, read and help to highlight the creativities of women, as well as inspiring other women to believe that they can also do it too. Not only is every piece of work that is included different, well written and informative but the way that the whole book is laid out with inspiring quotes but also beautiful illustrations from women. I loved the activities that can be found at the end of the book, writing workshop activities that could be used within a group in order to breakdown boundaries, to help overcome the fears and misgivings of individuals who would like to become writers, as well as activities to help create depth in characters. I think this inclusion of interactivity, as well as giving a feminist spin on fairy tales is a cleverly unique concept. ...its absolutely one to pick up and for a worthy cause too. --thereadingcloset Knowledgeably compiled and deftly edited, ''The Women Writers Handbook''; by Ann Sandham (Commissioning Editor for Ladybird Children''s Books at Penguin Random House) also features an informative Foreword by Cheryl Robson (the Aurora Metro Books publisher). Of special note is the inclusion of a instruction article on how to operate a writing workshop, a five page Resource Directory (compiled by Saskia Calliste), and a fun one-page Quiz. Informative, thought-provoking, inspiring, ''The Women Writers Handbook''; is an extraordinary, unique, and thoroughly ''reader friendly'' in both organization and presentation. Certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing collections in general, ''The Women Writers Handbook''; is unreservedly recommended for Women''s Fiction, Literature, and Writing supplemental curriculum reading lists in particular. --Midwest Book Review As a young woman both studying literature and harbouring dreams of becoming a writer myself, it seems to me that the world of writers is a great looming circle of male literary greats. Dickens, Wilde, Shakespeare, Scott, Browning the list of the most respected literary figures seems both to be endless and decidedly full of men. The whole industry seems overwhelmingly male with merely a few select women being let into this strange world governed by men. Although I have felt very welcomed and my voice heard in my studies and critique of literature, there seems to be precious few ways for me to become a meaningful contributor to the discipline. That is why it is so important that a book like this exists, giving guidance like this, telling stories like these, and using women''s voices to do so. Sandham offers a helping hand to all aspiring female writers to aid them in navigating their ventures into the literary world. The Handbook offers a space to women from all backgrounds to share their stories in my favourite segment: Women''s Voices. One story that stood out to me most was told by Magda Oldziejewska in The Feminist Library. Oldziejewska recounts her experience of discovering the Feminist Library; an archive in London which exists to preserve the lives, works and memories of many women. I especially liked this piece as it shows that there does in fact exist a space for women to feel not only safe and welcomed, but actively valued in the literary world. A space where we can learn about the forgotten women who came before us and ensure that the great female powers of our time do not slip into the void of lost female writers. The importance of creating access points to the literary world for women is monumental and Sandham has so beautifully created another in her making of this Handbook. The later segments of the Handbook (Writing Workshops and Workshop Sessions) give an incredible level of insight into the more finnicky aspects of serious writing with guides on Developing Complex Characters to Self-censorship. The frank discussion provided throughout the workshop segments is an indispensable tool for any budding author looking to get real and seriously improve the quality of their writing. I would recommend The Women Writers'' Handbook not only to women with explicit intentions to embark on their literary careers who need some support, but to anyone who seeks to better understand both the struggles and triumphs of women in the world of literature. --portobellobookblog What a fabulous source book - full of inspirational essays, short stories, poems and interviews with some top female writers - about the writing process, feminism and the experience of female authors, designed to get the juices flowing for any woman who has the hankering to write. If this was not enough to make you want to grab your note book and pen and embark on a writing project, then there are also writing exercises designed to stimulate the creative impulses and a directory of resources to help you on your way! And... quotes from some of the top women writers, both contemporary, and from history, are spread liberally throughout the publication, as encouragement. If I have not already persuaded you that you need a copy of this book to hand on the writing desk you are now surely going to purchase (should you not have one already), perhaps it will help if you know that 20% of the profits from the sale of this book will go towards the Virginia Woolf statue campaign! --Sue, Vine Voice Thrilled to get my hands on a copy of this updated version of The Women Writers’ Handbook, released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Aurora Metro books. Edited by Ann Sandham, a fabulous collection of poems, stories and interviews from a diverse group of internationally acclaimed women. Also included are the workshops from the original edition of this anthology and there is a newly updated resources list. As well as being a good read with lovely black and white drawings dotted throughout, it’s a really useful book - one I know I will return to time and time again. In addition, 20% of each sale is being donated to the Virginia Woolf statue campaign to go towards funding a statue of the esteemed British writer - the author of pioneering essays on women’s writing and the politics of power, so this is very apt. --Daisy Hollands In aid of the Virginia Woolf Statue campaign at: www.aurorametro.org/virgini-woolf-statue

This book examines the suicide crisis in the French workplace and asks why work or conditions of work increasingly push some employees to take their own lives. To address this question, the book analyses a corpus of testimonial material linked to 66 suicide cases across three large French companies during the period from 2005 to 2015. The book investigates what these suicide voices tell us about the present economic order and its impact on human labour within the contemporary juncture of finance-driven neoliberalism.

O ano é 1922, e Londres ainda vive a tensão do pós-guerra. O desemprego e a fome são uma nova realidade que exige mudanças sociais drásticas, principalmente entre aqueles que perderam seus familiares no confronto. E nos subúrbios de Londres, numa elegante residência no distrito de Camberwell, a vida sofre uma reviravolta quando a Sra. Wray, uma viúva empobrecida, e Frances, sua filha solteira, se veem obrigadas a alugar parte de sua grande e silenciosa casa, agora sem irmãos, marido e criadas, a inquilinos para que possam pagar suas dívidas e enfrentar os tempos de crise. Com a chegada de Lilian e Leonard Barber, um jovem casal de uma classe que os Wrays só conheciam através de seus serviçais, a rotina da casa será abalada de formas inesperadas. A família Wray não sabe até que ponto aqueles novos hóspedes irão alterar o curso de suas vidas – ou quão devastadoras serão as consequências quando as tensões se acumulam e paixões inesperadas vêm à tona. A partir deste cenário intimista, Sarah Waters oferece um pequeno mosaico das profundas mudanças na Inglaterra no período entre guerras, bem como a reconfiguração dos papéis sociais e sexuais em uma sociedade ainda hesitante em deixar para trás seus antigos valores vitorianos, sem nunca perder de vista a dimensão da vida privada e os momentos de delicadeza, sexualidade, tensão e violência que conduzem as relações de seus personagens.

I thought everything would change, after the war. And now, no one even mentions it. It is as if we all got together in private and said whatever you do don''t mention that, like it never happened. It''s the late 1940s. Calm has returned to London and five people are recovering from the chaos of war. In scenes set in a quiet dating agency, a bombed-out church and a prison cell, the stories of these five lives begin to intertwine and we uncover the desire and regret that has bound them together. Sarah Waters''s story of illicit love and everyday heroism takes us from a dazed and shattered post-war Britain back into the heart of the Blitz, towards the secrets that are hidden there. Olivier-nominated playwright Hattie Naylor has created a thrilling and theatrically inventive adaptation of a great modern novel. The stage adaptation of The Night Watch was premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, on 16 May 2016.

«GRANDISSIMO, MAESTOSO ROMANZO. È COSÌ CHE SI SCRIVE!» STEPHEN KING «Se ne è accorto Stephen King, ammiratore entusiasta della Waters, la cui prosa avanza (come in King) con una incrollabile ricchezza di tensione e di azione.» la Repubblica - Leonetta Bentivoglio «Con «Gli ospiti paganti» Sarah Waters ha scritto sia una bella storia d''amore, sia un romanzo psicologico cupamente ricco di suspence... il lettore dovrà affrontare un giro sulle montagne russe che lo lascerà letteralmente senza fiato.» The Washington Post «Sarah Waters è una delle migliori narratrici viventi.» The Indipendent «Sarah Waters immerge il lettore nella vita londinese del dopoguerra... E, alla fine, la sua bella rievocazione storicca, ricca dell''atmosfera del tempo, cede il passo a una domanda più universale: cosa fai tu per amore?» The Economist «Grandissimo, maestoso romanzo. È così che si scrive. » Stephen King «Un intreccio magistrale di crimine, vita domestica e passione romantica.» Los Angeles Times ««Gli ospiti paganti» conferma il talento superbo della Waters, insuperata testimone letteraria di epoche perdute e vite segrete.» The Times «Come accade con tutti i romanzi della Waters, verrete stregati da ogni pagina... Invano ho cercato di trovare anche una sola cosa negativa da dire su questo libro.» Financial Times Londra, 1922. La città porta ancora i segni della recente guerra: sono molte le cose che hanno bisogno di essere ricostruite, restaurate, molte le ferite da sanare, molti i cuori da riscaldare. Una madre e una figlia, i cui uomini di famiglia son stati portati via dalla guerra, sono costrette ad affittare alcune stanze della loro casa per sbarcare il lunario. Gli ospiti paganti sono una coppia di giovani sposi, che con la loro allegria e sensualità portano una ventata di aria fresca nelle polverose stanze dell’appartamento. Ma anche turbamento. I rumori, i passi, gli incontri in bagno, sul pianerottolo, la condivisione della vita quotidiana: un’intimità con estranei a cui le due donne non sono abituate. Lo scenario cambia velocemente, e molti fatti accadono nel vecchio appartamento che sembrava destinato a una vita fatta di piccole abitudini e di noia: un amore inaspettato e travolgente; una misteriosa aggressione; e da ultimo un omicidio. Con la maestria narrativa che l’ha già consacrata al successo di pubblico e critica, Sarah Waters imbastisce un racconto avvincente sulla passione amorosa, i desideri inconfessati e le loro travolgenti conseguenze. Un romanzo raffinato, che inserisce nell’affresco di un’epoca storica personaggi destinati a rimanere nel cuore e nella memoria del lettore, così vivi, così autentici nella loro drammatica brama di felicità.

«L’HO LETTO CON PASSIONE, MI HA STREGATA» MARGARET ATWOOD Sedute spiritiche, spettri ribelli e passioni proibite. Sullo sfondo, una Londra fosca e ambigua di epoca vittoriana. Ed ecco che, tra il racconto del terrore e il romanzo erotico, si dipana la storia tortuosa e inquietante di un’affinità elettiva. Selina Dawes è detenuta nella prigione di Millbank perché giudicata colpevole di frode e aggressione. I suoi poteri di medium e la sua indole enigmatica suscitano l’interesse di Margaret Prior, una giovane di buona famiglia che presta servizio di volontariato in quel carcere. Selina sembra innocente ma la sua permanenza in prigione non è immotivata. Nel tentativo di aiutarla, Margaret si troverà coinvolta in una vicenda densa di atmosfere crepuscolari dove il mistero e il delitto sembrano costituire l’essenza della condizione umana. È una scrittura, quella della Waters, che non cede mai al sentimentalismo. Spicchi di verità si affacciano nell’avvicendarsi di scene mozzafiato per poi tornare a celarsi in un gioco sapiente di rimandi tra il presente e il passato delle due protagoniste. L’intera storia, dunque, deve essere rielaborata dal lettore volta per volta, quasi per magio o ipnosi. Una rappresentazione della realtà che si costruisce per sovrapposizioni e confronti fino al colmo della suspense, quando la mente e i sensi potranno dirsi finalmente soddisfatti.

Water klotste, hielen wreven over de bodem van het bad toen mevrouw Barber erin stapte, gevolgd door heftiger geplons op het moment waarop ze zich liet zakken. Daarna heerste er stilte, die zo nu en dan werd onderbroken door het galmende plik! van een druppel uit de kraan. Het beeld dat Frances zich zo-even aan tafel van haar huurders had gevormd – grote wankelende shillingstukken – was louter door geldzucht ingegeven. Maar zo was het dus om huurders te hebben, bedacht ze terwijl ze achterwaarts met haar dweil over de tegels schoof: een merkwaardige, niet-intieme nabijheid, een van alle luister ontdaan ogenblik met niet meer dan een stuk keuken en een dunne bijkeukendeur die haar van de naakte mevrouw Barber scheidden. Ineens zag ze het voor zich: rondingen, rood van de warmte. Het is 1922, en de situatie in Londen is gespannen. Veteranen die op de slagvelden in Europa hebben gediend zijn gedesillusioneerd, de vele werklozen eisen maatschappelijke verandering. In Zuid-Londen, in een villa op stand in Camberwell – een groot, stil huis, beroofd van broers, van een echtgenoot, zelfs van bedienden – zien mevrouw Wray en haar alleenstaande dochter Frances zich genoodzaakt huurders in huis te nemen. De komst van Lilian en Leonard Barber, een jong echtpaar uit een ander milieu, zij het met een nette betrekking, zet de gang van zaken in de villa volledig op zijn kop.

The New York Times bestselling novel that has been called “a tour de force” (Wall Street Journal), “unputdownable” (The Washington Post), “a delicious hothouse of a novel” (USA Today), “effortless” (The Economist), “seductive” (Vanity Fair) and “pitch perfect” (Salon) “Superb, bewitching…Forget about Fifty Shades of Grey; this novel is one of the most sensual you will ever read, and all without sacrificing either good taste or a "G" rating” – NPR “One of the year’s most engrossing and suspenseful novels…a love affair, a shocking murder, and a flawless ending … Will keep you sleepless for three nights straight and leave you grasping for another book that can sustain that high.” — Entertainment Weekly (A rating) “Volcanically sexy, sizzingly smart, plenty bloody and just plain irresistible." —USA Today (4 stars) It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa—a large, silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and even servants—life is about to be transformed as impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers. With the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the “clerk class,” the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. Little do the Wrays know just how profoundly their new tenants will alter the course of Frances’s life—or, as passions mount and frustration gathers, how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be. Short-listed for the Man Booker Prize three times, Sarah Waters has earned a reputation as one of our greatest writers of historical fiction, and here she has delivered again. A love story, a tension-filled crime story, and a beautifully atmospheric portrait of a fascinating time and place, The Paying Guests is Sarah Waters’s finest achievement yet.

This book provides the first comprehensive study in English of contemporary French opposition to globalisation.

''Tipping the Velvet'' is a wonderfully lush, sensous and bawdy novel set in the music halls of the late 19th century. Nan gets to meet her heroine, Kitty, a male impersonator. The two begin a double act, and their affection for each other deepens.

"What a wonderful collection! Each story is like a little treasure just waiting to be unwrapped, bringing its own unique and engaging perspective to the Austen mythos. A real treat for Jane Austen fans." —Syrie James, bestselling author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen and Dracula, My Love Dancing with Mr. Darcy is a sterling collection of short stories inspired by beloved novelist Jane Austen and Chawton House, her longtime home. Edited by Sarah Waters, a bestselling author shortlisted for Great Britain''s Booker Prize, this exceptional anthology features the winning entries in the Jane Austen Short Story Award 2009, a literary competition which celebrates the bicentenary of Jane Austen''s arrival in the village of Chawton, where she spent the most productive years of her writing life. Any reader who''s been captivated by Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, or the other unforgettable excursions into Austen''s literary world will find Dancing with Mr. Darcy an unparalleled delight.

After being summoned to treat a patient at dilapidated Hundreds Hall, Dr. Faraday finds himself becoming entangled in the lives of the owners, the Ayres family, and the supernatural presences in the house.

The story of a "girl-in-trousers" in 1890s England. She is a lesbian fishmonger who gains entry into the libertine world of music halls by an affair with a singer, becoming her partner in a cross-dressing show. But drama follows when the other goes straight.

«Sarah Waters deja atrás las interioridades de la sociedad victoriana de sus celebradas novelas anteriores y las reemplaza por un sencillo y sincero estudio de la alienación provocada por la guerra... Ronda nocturna es un libro emotivo y maravilloso que no necesita trucos de magia para querer leerlo por segunda vez» (Philip Hensher, The Observer). «El retrato que Waters hace del bombardeo de Londres es soberbio... Una novela repleta de matices, inteligente y generosa. Sarah Waters es una autora a celebrar, y esta novela es, muy probablemente, su mayor logro hasta la fecha» (Justine Jordan, The Guardian). «Hay que destacar el sentido del detalle y la descripción precisa y justa de Ronda nocturna, que proporcionan una textura de polvo y ceniza a esta suntuosa novela de amor y arrepentimiento» (Christine Rousseau, Le Monde). «Todo un logro. La meticulosa recreación de Waters sitúa al lector, emocional y físicamente, en la vorágine del Blitz londinense... Un maravilloso tratado sobre la fragilidad del amor y lo efímero de la felicidad» (J. Harding, Daily Mail). Inglaterra se recupera lentamente de los intensos bombardeos nazis durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Poco a poco Londres vuelve a la normalidad. Entre sus habitantes se encuentran los personajes de esta novela coral, cuyas vidas se entrelazan azarosamente. Ronda nocturna, la última y celebrada novela de Sarah Waters, nos cuenta la vida de cuatro jóvenes londinenses durante el Blitz y la dura posguerra: el atribulado Duncan, su insatisfecha hermana Viv, la compañera de trabajo de ésta, Helen, fatalmente enamorada, y la ex enfermera Kay, siempre en busca de un nuevo amor. La acción se sitúa en 1947, 1944 y 1941: retrocediendo en el tiempo iremos descubriendo exactamente en qué medida afectó la experiencia de la guerra a estos personajes y, poco a poco, se irá revelando la verdadera naturaleza de sus comportamientos y actitudes actuales, así como la dimensión del laberinto sentimental en el que están atrapados y las inesperadas relaciones existentes entre ellos o con personajes de su pasado. La guerra supuso el fin de su inocencia, es la frontera que separa su aún cercana juventud de una madurez sobrevenida entre bombardeos y cupones de racionamiento. Los secretos que albergan conectan sus vidas de maneras a veces insospechadas... Además de una conmovedora historia de amor y traición en tiempos de guerra, en Ronda nocturna Sarah Waters nos habla de los sueños rotos de toda una generación y realiza una certera disección de las costumbres y la moral de la sociedad británica de posguerra.

Londres, 1862. A la veille de ses dix-huit ans, Sue Trinder, l''orpheline de Lant Street, le quartier des voleurs, se voit proposer par un élégant, surnommé Gentleman, d''escroquer une riche héritière. Orpheline elle aussi, cette dernière est élevée dans un lugubre manoir par son oncle, collectionneur de livres d''un genre tout particulier. Dans cette atmosphère saturée de mystère et de passions souterraines, Sue devra déjouer les complots les plus délicieusement cruels, afin de devenir, avec le concours de la belle demoiselle de Briar, une légende parmi les cercles interlopes de la bibliophilie érotique. Héritière moderne de Dickens, mais aussi de Sapho et des Libertins, Sarah Waters nous offre une vision clandestine de l''Angleterre victorienne, un envers du décor où les héroïnes, de mariages secrets en amours interdites, ne se conduisent jamais comme on l''attendrait. Un roman décadent et virtuose.

La joven Nancy Astley vendía ostras en una pequeña ciudad portuaria en la costa de Kent hasta que un día llegó una compañía de variedades donde cantaba un joven encantador, Nancy se dejó seducir por su voz y por su gracia, y descubrió que en realidad era también una jovencita, como ella. La siguió a Londres como su asistenta, como su amante y como su compañera de actuación. Pero esto no fue más que el primer paso de una larga y muy peculiar educación sentimental. Porque en la Inglaterra victoriana, la transgresión, los «vicios» más secretos, surgían a cada paso que Nancy daba.

Die Waise Sue Trinder wird im viktorianischen London unter Dieben und Betrügern gross. Eines Tages soll sie dem Gentlemen Richard Rivers helfen, an das Vermögen der Adeligen Maud zu kommen. - Ein spannender Roman, der die düster, neblige Atmosphäre Londons wundervoll widergibt und Einblicke in das Leben sowohl der Armen wie der Wohlhabenden dieser Zeit gibt. Die Charaktere sind liebevoll ausgeführt, man schliesst sie beim Lesen ins Herz und vergisst dabei fast, dass es sich überwiegend umDiebe und Kleinkriminelle handelt ...

The Handmaiden, a film adaptation of Fingersmith, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Kim Tae-Ri, is now available. 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.