Fingersmith (2002) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Susan Trinder: A young, poor girl from London who, up until the beginning of the book, is a fingersmith (Victorian slang for a pickpocket). Also known as Sue, Suky, and Susan Smith, the last being the name she takes on when she becomes Maud Lilly's maid.
• Maud Lilly: A seemingly delicate frail young lady of fortune.
• Richard 'Gentleman' Rivers: An associate of Susan's who organises for her to become lady's maid to Maud.
• Mrs Sucksby: Susan lives with Mrs Sucksby in the back streets of London.
• Mr Ibbs: A seller of stolen goods on Lant Street. Mrs Sucksby lives in the back of his shop.
• Charles: One of Mr Lilly's servants, under the watch of Mr Way. He is often called the knife boy and has the job of sharpening the knives of the house.
• John Vroom: One of the orphans taken in by Mrs Sucksby, he can often be found taunting Sue, sewing coats of dog fur or causing trouble for the fun of it. Occasionally called Johnny.
• Mrs Stiles: A strict, governess-like matron who keeps Mr Lilly's servants in line. Her own daughter has died, and this is one of the reasons why she resents Maud.
• Dr Christie: One of the doctors from the asylum whom Gentleman calls to analyse Maud Lilly.
• Mr Hawtrey: One of the men who frequently comes to view Mr Lilly's collection of books.
• Mr Way: Mr Lilly's servant
• Margaret: Add a description of this character.
• Nurse Spiller: A heavy-handed nurse from the asylum
• Betty: One of the asylum residents
• Agnes: Maud Lilly's frail, redheaded maid (before Sue).
• Mrs Cream: The owner of the cottage in which Gentleman and Maud Lilly will room in for a time after he has married her.
• Dr Graves: One of the doctors of the asylum whom Gentleman calls to analyse Maud Lilly.
• Miss Wilson: One of the residents of the asylum.
• Marianne: Maud Lilly's deceased mother
• Dainty: One of the girls who lives with Mrs Sucksby, she can steal just about anything.
• Mr Huss: One of the men who frequently comes to view Mr Lilly's collection of books.
• Mrs Price: One of the residents of the asylum.
• Phil
• Barbara: Maud Lilly's first maid
• William Inker
• Marlow
• Mrs Cakebread: The cook for Mr Lilly's residence
• Nurse Bacon: One of the nurses of the asylum
• Mayfair
• Mr Bates
• Bill Sykes: A wicked character from Oliver Twist. Sue sees part of Dickens' play when she is very young and becomes frightened of him.
• Lady Alice
• Nancy
• Janet

Quotes edit see section history

• “... you are a man and might do anything. I am a woman and might do nothing.”

  Maud Lilly

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• Everybody in my world knew that regular work was only another name for being robbed and dying of boredom.

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• Is this desire? How queer that I, of all people, should not know! But I thought desire smaller, neater; I supposed it bound to its own organs as taste is bound to the mouth, vision to the eye. This feeling haunts and inhabits me, like a sickness. It covers me, like skin.

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• But words, Hawtrey, words—hmm? They seduce us in darkness, and the mind clothes and fleshes them to fashions of its own.

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• We were thinking of secrets. Real secrets, and snide. Too many to count. When I try now to sort out who knew what and who knew nothing, who knew everything and who was a fraud, I have to stop and give it up, it makes my head spin.

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• There is no patience so terrible as that of the deranged. I have seen lunatics labour at endless tasks—conveying sand from one leaking cup into another; counting the stitches in a fraying gown, or the motes in a sunbeam; filling invisible ledgers with the resulting sums. Had they been gentlemen, and rich—instead of women—then perhaps they would have passed as scholars and commanded staffs.—I cannot say.

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• The book is called The Curtain Drawn Up, or the Education of Laura.

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• And so you see it is love—not scorn, not malice; only love—that makes me harm her, in the end.

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• Should I struggle, it will draw me deep into itself, and I will drown. I do not wish, then, to do that. I cease struggling at all, and surrender myself to its viscid, circular currents.

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• I gaze through the lozenge of glass at the road we have travelled—a winding red road, made cloudy by dust, like a thread of blood escaping from my heart.

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• There might as well have been grooves laid for us in the floorboards; we might have glided on sticks. There might have been a great handle set into the side of the house, and a great hand winding

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London: The main setting of the story.
• Briar: The house in which Mr Lilly, Maud and the servants live.
• England
• Maidenhead: The village near which the Lilly residence is located.
• Paddington: A station at which Sue and Gentleman stop on their way to Mr Lilly's residence.
• Holywell Street: The street which contains Mr Hawtrey's curious shop of books, and others shops like it.
• Lant Street: The street on which Mr Ibb's shop and Mrs Sucksby's house is located. Sue grows up here.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Family Matters, and followed by The Double.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Sarah Waters (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Man Booker Prize (Finalist, 2002, shortlist)
• The Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award (2002)
• Stonewall Book Award (2003: Honor Book in Literature)
• Lambda Literary Award (2002: Lesbian Fiction)
• Orange Prize for Fiction (Finalist, 2002)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.914

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Not for children due to explicit scenes.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Gay & Lesbian › Literature & Fiction › Fiction › Lesbian
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Wikipedia: review
• guardian.co.uk: review

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Fingersmith (IMDb): A 2005 TV serial.

More Books Like This edit see section history