Set in 1870s London, "The Crimson Petal and the White" follows the lives of various characters navigating the stark realities of both poverty and wealth during the Victorian era. The story revolves around Sugar, a prostitute striving to improve her circumstances, and William, a complex character whose actions disappoint and intrigue readers. Michel Faber's writing style immerses readers in the sights and sounds of London, offering a detailed portrayal of the time period.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic depictions of sex, prostitution, mental illness, and societal oppression.
Has Romance?
There is a significant romantic subplot involving the protagonist, Sugar, and William Rackham, highlighting complex emotional dynamics.
From The Publisher:
A teenage prostitute ascends through the many layers of Victorian London society in this highly acclaimed "big, sexy, bravura novel" (New York Times).
London, 1870s. At the heart of this panoramic narrative is a young woman's struggle to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. Sugar, a nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, yearns for a better life. Her ascent through the strata of Victorian society begins with the egotistical perfume magnate William Rackham. Infatuated with Sugar, William's patronage brings her into the circles of his family and milieu: his wife who barely overcomes chronic hysteria to make her appearances during "the Season"; his mysteriously hidden-away daughter, left to the care of minions; his pious brother, foiled in his devotional calling by his lust for the Widow Fox; as well as preening socialites, drunken journalists, untrustworthy servants, vile guttersnipes, and whores of all stripes and persuasions.
Twenty years in its conception, research, and writing, The Crimson Petal and the White is teeming with life, rich in texture and incident, with breathtakingly real characters.
"Cocky and brilliant, amused and angry, [Faber] is rightfully earning comparisons to observer extraordinaire Charles Dickens. . . . It's hopeless to resist" (Entertainment Weekly).
Ratings (21)
Incredible (9) | |
Loved It (8) | |
Liked It (1) | |
It Was OK (3) |
Reader Stats (43):
Read It (20) | |
Want To Read (15) | |
Did Not Finish (2) | |
Not Interested (6) |
4 comment(s)
Couldn’t finish once I learned how it ends. Very dense and relatively slow but good. Love to read about this time period but the turns the characters take was just a little too much for me.
This is one of my all time favorite books and I decided to sink my teeth in the story again today and read it much more slowly then I usually read. It was definitely worth it, the story while being gritty and about Victorian downside is a very engaging read. It has you hooked by the start and doesn't let you go. It's about women harsh realities and the fight of trying to get to the top but it doesn't promise an happy ending with sunshine and rainbows. I love this book and highly recommend this brick of a book
An interesting novel of a woman's social climb from the lowest rung of Victorian London society to the highest. Love the way in while the author puts the reader in the thick of the action.
One of my favourites
What can you read after
The Crimson Petal and the White?
About the Author:
Michel Faber's work has been published in twenty countries and received several literary awards. He lives in Scotland.
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