Lush Victorian crime with love and lesbian romps.
There are so many wonderful books you can move onto from this. Not least Sarah Waters’ other excellent novels – Tipping the Velvet or Affinity being the most obvious choices with their very different stories but similar Victorian settings. Or jump forward in history to The Night Watch (my personal favourite) which has just been beautifully adapted by the BBC, or try her most recent – The Little Stranger – which is currently in the top 100.
Or you can see what’s inspired Sarah by reading from her top 10
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr Ripley
Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca
Donna Tartt, The Secret History
Anthony Powell, A Dance to the Music of Time
Olivia Manning, Fortunes of War
Muriel Spark, Memento Mori
If you liked Fingersmith because of the Victorian setting, strong heroines and dark underbelly and want something written at the time try: Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White; Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend; Charlotte Bronte, Wuthering Heights
If you liked Fingersmith because of the Victorian setting, strong heroines and dark underbelly and want something written recently try: Michel Faber, Crimson Petal and the White; AS Byatt, Possession
If you liked Fingersmith for the criminal elements try: Kate Summerscale, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime
If you’re interested in reading more contemporary female fiction try: Jeanette Winterson, Val McDermid (crime), Emma Donaghue or Stella Duffy
If you want to read other books that have been shortlisted for both the Man Booker and Orange prizes try: Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall; Emma Donaghue, Room; Ali Smith, The Accidental; Zadie Smith, On Beauty
And finally, our massively tenuous, completely off the wall suggestions*:
Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears
Goldfinger, Ian Flemming
The Moving Finger, Agatha Christie
The Magic Finger, Roald Dahl
*obviously linked by the fact that they all contain the word finger in the title
Two more authors' choices today. Markus Zusak & Audrey Niffenegger currently both have books in the top 10 (The Book Thief at number 4 and The Time Traveller's Wife at number 9). Markus' choices are listed in alphabetical order and Audrey's chosen to pick her favourite books from the current top 100.
Markus Zusak’s choices (supplied in alphabetical order)
Wonder Boys: Michael Chabon
The Half Brother: Lars Saabye Christensen
The Commitments: Roddy Doyle
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape: Peter Hedges
To Kill a Mockingbird: Harper Lee
The Bell Jar: Sylvia Plath
Green Eggs and Ham: Doctor Seuss
I Capture the Castle: Dodie Smith
Maus: Art Spiegelman
Old School: Tobias Wolfe
Audrey Niffenegger’s choices (from top 100 list)
The Secret History – Donna Tartt
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell – Susannah Clarke
Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
Catcher in the Rye – J D Salinger
American Gods – Neil Gaiman
Persuasion – Jane Austen
Possession – A S Byatt
The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters
Captain Corelli's Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres
The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
Tomorrow choices from two of this year's World Book Night authors, Kate Atkinson and Mark Haddon.
`We were all more or less thieves at Lant Street. But we were that kind of thief that rather eased the dodgy deed along, than did it… We could pass anything, anything at all, at speeds which would astonish you. There was only one thing, in fact, that had come and got stuck – one thing that had somehow withstood the tremendous pull of that passage – one thing that never had a price put to it. I mean of course, Me.’
Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, is born among petty thieves – fingersmiths – in London’s Borough. From the moment she draws breath, her fate is linked to another orphan, growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away…
