Genre: Novel
Grade B+
Notable People: Sarah Waters
Title: The Paying Guests
Review: Very intense and very long (600 plus pages) novel of forbidden love set in post WWI London. Francis at a 27 year old woman (oddly referring to herself as a spinster) living with her 50 something mother (oddly referred to as elderly) in a falling down house that was once grand, before the war related deaths of both of her brothers and then the death and financial ruin of her father. As a result, she and her mother are forced to take in boarders (called “paying guests” in England) to make ends meet. A simple enough story of the times, it becomes much, much move complicated halfway through the book….almost a suspense thriller, which was wholly unexpected. Well written and quite provocative, but went on about a third too long for my tastes. Still, very evocative of the time and place and worth the read.