Book From My TBR Shelves
Genre: Gothic Fiction
Number of Pages: 592
📖PLOT SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS 📖
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.
💭THOUGHTS💭
I first thought of this book when I was trying to find some Gothic Fiction for the Halloween month of October. I have had this book on my shelf for many years and thought that it was high time that I actually read it. I had no idea that it would take me this long, however I have enjoyed it and am glad that I have finally finished it – a month later!
The writing is small and very detailed. It is a really slow paced story because of the heavy detail. Even though it is heavy on the detail, I really enjoyed it. I was able to immerse myself in the story and enjoy the journey that I was being taken on. I would read for ages and not seem to get anywhere, yet at the same time lots of things seemed to happen. The size of the font combined with the number of pages was intimidating, but once I had started I wanted to make it to the end!
The chapters were long so you got a good chunk of the story before moving on. The book was split into 3 parts, with each one having a specific part to play. There were a few twists that I didn’t see coming! I was however, a bit disappointed by the ending. For me it didn’t give the closure I was expecting. The rest of the story was good though, so I couldn’t really give it less than 4.5 stars.
The characters were great. The story was told from two main points of view, which I enjoyed. I loved the morally grey aspects to all of the characters and felt that these traits all added to the story in some way. I was totally invested in both characters, yet they were essentially quite heartless.
Lastly the settings. I loved them. I loved the time period and travelling between London and the countryside. The level of detail was excellent and I really felt like I was there alongside the characters.
Overall an excellent story, but I found it quite a lot to get through.
⭐Rated 4.5/5⭐
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