Bookish Thoughts: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

My name, in those days, was Susan Trinder. ~ Opening of Fingersmith

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Riverhead, 2002

Fiction; 582 pgs

When I heard about the Fingersmith Read-A-Long hosted by Jennifer of Literate Housewife, I somehow finagled it into my reading schedule for the month of October.  I am so glad I did. I have wanted to try something by Sarah Waters for years. I always figured I would start with Night Watch or The Little Stranger. I knew very little about Fingersmith going into the novel. I knew it was set partially in Victorian London with an orphan as its heroine. An orphan who grew up among thieves. I knew there would be a love story. And perhaps some treachery. I admit, I had high expectations. 

Fingersmith is the story of two women in very different circumstances. There is Susan Trinder, an orphan raised by Mrs. Sucksby who seems to collect babies and farm them out. Then there is Maud Lilly, also an orphan, raised as a lady by her uncle and his staff, who has known little kindness in her life. Susan is raised in love, as if she is Mrs. Sucksby's own, while Maud was not spared the rod growing up and serves her uncle and his dark interests.

One day the Gentleman, a charming con man, walks through Mrs. Sucksby's door with a proposition for Susan "Sue" Trinder. If she will only help him with his most recent venture, she will be paid most handsomely. Sue sees this as an opportunity to repay the people who took her in as an infant and cared for her all these years.  Taking on the role of a ladies' maid, Sue begins working for Maud Lilly, an heiress to a fortune the Gentleman has his eyes on. All Sue has to do is help pave the way for the Gentleman to win Maud's heart, trick her into marrying him, and then steal her fortune.

Sarah Waters' writing is beautiful, and she has an extraordinary gift for weaving together a tale that is intricate, dark and engrossing.  This is one of those books that draws the reader in and stays with the reader even when the book is closed. There is a darkness to the story, a Gothic feel to it and a strong sense of foreboding throughout.

Both Maud and Sue struck me as being quite naïve in their own ways. Sue, even living among thieves has led a sheltered life. Maud had for so long been cloistered in her uncle's home and before that the asylum where she was raised in her early years. Sue was a much easier character to like and empathize with, given her situation. She had doubts all along the way of what she was doing and what it would mean for Maud if Sue and the Gentleman succeeded. So, while I did not always agree with the choices she made, I could see why she did what she did as the story progressed.  Maud was more of an enigma, especially in the beginning. The first portion of the novel is told from Sue's perspective and the second lets the reader into Maud's mind, before returning to Sue again in another section. It is with these varying perspectives the reader is allowed a more fuller glimpse into the lives of the two women, their relationship, and their fates as the story unfolds.

The more I learned about Maud, the more obvious it becomes just how much the two women come to mean to each other. Maud has proven she is not the kindest person, capable of cruelty, a product perhaps of the treatment she has received and her circumstances. Maud has known little love in her life, and Sue's kindness is foreign to her. Sue, in trying to be as warm and gentle as possible to gain Maud's trust, comes to care for the woman and want to protect her.

The novel is set in Victorian England, and the author captures the mood of the era well, including the cultural view of women, the divide between the poor and the wealthy and also the institutional side of the time period. It is clear Waters did her research to present as realistic and heart wrenching experience as possible.

Fingersmith was all the things I imagined it would be. Romantic and heartbreaking, full of betrayal and family secrets. Atmospheric. The novel was full of surprises and twists I did not see coming, although some I did. I do not imagine this is a novel I will soon forget.

Rating:  (Outstanding)

You can learn more about Sarah Waters and her books on the author's website. 

Source: I purchased both a trade paperback copy and e-copy of this book for my own reading pleasure.

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