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astronautin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
stellahadz's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This one took me a while to finish, partly because I had to put it down so I could finish other books that were coming due at the library, and partly because it is just a very slow-paced book, more so than I usually like. It took about 300 pages to get to what I thought was the more interesting part of the story (the chapters that focused more on Bogle and his experiences leading up to the trial), and the different characters' stories felt disjointed to me. I feel like Smith wanted to write a book about the Tichborne trial and a book about William Harrison Ainsworth and eventually decided to blend them into one story. Usually she writes these intertwined stories beautifully (I will never shut up about White Teeth being one of my favorite books ever), but this one didn't work for me. It probably doesn't help that I'm not a big historical fiction fan in general either, but overall this book wasn't my favorite. I did appreciate Smith's signature wit, subtle humor, and social/political commentary, though. It might be a book I have to reread in order to appreciate, so in that sense I am glad that I own the copy I read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Death, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Child death and Abandonment
helsbelles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Slavery
Moderate: Violence
marmoo's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
There’s both a lot going on here—intertwining timelines, a narrative within the narrative—but very little of what you might call “plot.” That’s not a dig; this novel is more interesting when it sits with the decisions the quotidian decisions the characters make within their social limitations. The novel effectively juggles its interest in the interconnectedness of British wealth with the brutality of slavery, the difficulty to live up to our stated ideals, and the cognitive dissonance of poltical polarization.
In situating much of the action in a bizarre 19th century court case, Smith seems far less interested in the titular fraud (one of them, anyway) than about what others see when they look at him. How can such an obvious charlatan be the receptacle of the pride of the downtrodden?
You don’t have to stretch very far to see the echoes to our own faux-populists of today. At one point, the protagonist tries to “remind herself that what she was witnessing was a sincere mass emotion—dispossession—being twisted and manipulated for ulterior purposes. Still, they frightened her. Were these ‘the people’? Were these her people?”
In her reconstruction of Victorian England, Smith evokes the familiar sense of disorientation you feel when talking to someone living in a different ideological reality hasn’t changed all that much these past couple of centuries. Take the aftermath of court testimony that the protagonist considered self-evidently damning—but that only hardened her cousin-in-law’s allegiance:
In situating much of the action in a bizarre 19th century court case, Smith seems far less interested in the titular fraud (one of them, anyway) than about what others see when they look at him. How can such an obvious charlatan be the receptacle of the pride of the downtrodden?
You don’t have to stretch very far to see the echoes to our own faux-populists of today. At one point, the protagonist tries to “remind herself that what she was witnessing was a sincere mass emotion—dispossession—being twisted and manipulated for ulterior purposes. Still, they frightened her. Were these ‘the people’? Were these her people?”
In her reconstruction of Victorian England, Smith evokes the familiar sense of disorientation you feel when talking to someone living in a different ideological reality hasn’t changed all that much these past couple of centuries. Take the aftermath of court testimony that the protagonist considered self-evidently damning—but that only hardened her cousin-in-law’s allegiance:
Eliza reminded herself to be a good Christian. She would not crow or appear too pleased with herself. She would be gentle and mindful of Sarah’s hurt feelings, always remembering that false beliefs are precisely the ones we tend to cling to most strongly.
Before she could speak, however, Sarah erupted in enthusiasm: ‘Ain’t it a marvel how he ties all them stuffed shirts up in knots! The more them lawyers talk, the more he proves himself!’
It’s a scene that hits close to home in this turbulent election season, if not, as this novel argues, a particularly new phenomenon.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
anniesher23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Smith is such a wonderful character-builder and storyteller. She always picks the most unexpected and creative plots, and this was no exception. I found this book fascinating, informative, and thought provoking. Eliza Touchet was a great character - I found her self-reflection and imperfect activism to be so realistic and timeless.
It was a little hard to follow via audiobook, especially because I kept having to stop for a few weeks while I waited to borrow again.
It was a little hard to follow via audiobook, especially because I kept having to stop for a few weeks while I waited to borrow again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Child death and Sexism
jeyjeyyy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, and Colonisation
maryhungerford's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really dont know how to rate this? I didnt really gel with it but that is purely cause i think i wasnt paying enough attention at the start and missed something important, so it was good and well written, but would i say that i am confident in my understanding of the plot?
No, no i would not.
‘The world was sunk in madness. It covered everything like weather.’
‘Who can give to me what was never theirs to possess?’
No, no i would not.
‘The world was sunk in madness. It covered everything like weather.’
‘Who can give to me what was never theirs to possess?’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Grief
mabe_l's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Witty. Satire of english victorian novel/literary elites. Great narrator voice. Very interesting history of slavery in Jamaica.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
phoevincent's review
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery