Fingersmith

How it reads

Fingersmith is historical fiction (victorian gothic historical fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a rural setting, in the historical past, told in the first person by several narrators. Its central concerns are identity, love and secrets. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 548 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.