Sarah Waters (2011)
Genre
Historical Fiction / Mystery / Romance
Reading Time
1120 min
Key Themes
See below
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In Victorian London's criminal underworld, a con man's plot to defraud an heiress traps a pickpocket and her mark in a web of secrets, betrayals, and forbidden desires, blurring the lines between love and deception.
Susan Trinder, known as Sue, tells about her early life in a London lodging house run by Mrs. Sucksby, a baby-farmer and receiver of stolen goods. Raised among thieves, Sue learns the trade and sees Mrs. Sucksby as her mother. One day, a man named Richard Rivers, or 'Gentleman,' approaches Mrs. Sucksby with a plan. He intends to marry a wealthy heiress, Maud Lilly, who lives on her uncle's estate, then have her committed to an asylum to take her fortune. He needs a 'fingersmith' to act as Maud's maid, earn her trust, and help him carry out the plan. Sue, despite her initial doubts, agrees, seeing it as a way to secure a good future for herself and Mrs. Sucksby.
Sue travels to Briar, the isolated country estate where Maud Lilly lives with her eccentric uncle, Christopher Lilly. Posing as a respectable maid, 'Susan Smith,' Sue starts her new job. The house is a maze of dusty rooms, and Maud is a quiet, reserved young woman, seemingly trapped by her uncle's studies. Mr. Lilly is a reclusive book collector, obsessed with his large collection of rare and often pornographic books. He makes Maud help him in his library, copying and reading aloud passages from these illicit texts for potential buyers. Sue watches the strange relationship between uncle and niece, feeling pity for Maud, even as she works towards betraying her.
As Sue spends more time with Maud, their relationship develops. Maud, at first cold, slowly confides in Sue, sharing her loneliness and her dislike for her uncle and his degrading work. Sue feels drawn to Maud's vulnerability and intelligence, and their bond grows into an unexpected closeness. Sue starts to question the ethics of her part in Gentleman's plan, struggling with her loyalty to Mrs. Sucksby and her growing feelings for Maud. She feels a deep conflict, torn between the promise of wealth and the love she feels for the heiress she is meant to betray.
The wedding day arrives. Gentleman, having won Maud over, marries her in a quiet ceremony. Soon after, the plan to commit Maud to an asylum begins. Sue, playing her role, helps to 'subdue' Maud, who seems to have a mental breakdown. Maud is then taken away, supposedly to a private asylum. Sue, believing she has finished her task and secured Maud's fate, returns to London with Gentleman, expecting her share of the fortune. However, a sense of unease starts to bother her, as she deals with the guilt of her actions and the strong memories of Maud's distress.
Upon returning to Mrs. Sucksby's house, Sue is drugged and wakes up locked in a padded cell, in what appears to be a private asylum. She is horrified and confused, believing Gentleman and Mrs. Sucksby betrayed her. During her confinement, she slowly puts together information and overhears conversations that reveal a shocking truth: she is not Sue Trinder, the fingersmith, but Maud Lilly. The woman she thought was Maud was actually Sue Trinder, the real fingersmith, who had swapped places with her. The entire scheme, including her upbringing, had been an elaborate deception by Mrs. Sucksby and Gentleman to secure the inheritance for the real Sue.
The story then switches to Maud's view, showing her life before Sue arrived. Born to a wealthy mother who died in childbirth, Maud was raised by her eccentric Uncle Lilly, who used her for his pornographic library. He taught her to read and write, specifically to help him with his illicit trade. Maud reveals she knew about Gentleman's plan and had been involved from the start. She had met the real Sue Trinder weeks before the 'switch,' and they had planned to swap identities, with Maud posing as Sue and Sue posing as Maud, to escape their oppressive lives and claim the fortune. Maud's seemingly helpless manner was an act.
Maud, now free from the asylum and posing as Sue Trinder, returns to Mrs. Sucksby's house. She confronts Mrs. Sucksby, who, despite her part in the deception, truly cares for both girls. Maud learns more about her true parents and the complex web of lies that defined her life. She discovers her mother was Mrs. Sucksby's sister, and Mrs. Sucksby had been involved in a previous scheme with Uncle Lilly concerning Maud's inheritance. Maud, now knowing the full truth and with her new freedom, begins to navigate the world outside Briar and the asylum, seeking justice and a new beginning.
Maud, disguised as Sue, confronts Gentleman, who is now living off the inheritance he believes he has. She reveals her true identity and the full extent of the deception, exposing his villainy. She also confronts her Uncle Lilly, making him acknowledge his abuses and the truth about her mother's past. The confrontation is tense, as Maud, no longer timid, stands firm. The complex web of lies, betrayals, and hidden motives starts to unravel, leading to a dramatic moment where the true villains are exposed and some justice is sought. The old system of manipulation and exploitation begins to break down.
After their separate experiences and discoveries, Maud and Sue reunite. Sue, released from the asylum (after Maud's help and the scheme's exposure), is at first confused and angry. Their reunion is full of betrayal, hurt, and lingering affection. Slowly, through honest talks and shared understanding of their manipulation, they begin to heal the wounds from the deception. They reconcile, recognizing the depth of their bond and the unique circumstances that brought them together. Their love, formed in deceit, becomes stronger and more genuine.
With the various schemes dismantled and the truth known, Maud and Sue are free to make their own way. They decide to leave their pasts behind and build a new life together. The inheritance, now theirs (or a portion of it, after everything settles), gives them the means to live independently. Their journey is one of healing, trust, and rebuilding. The novel ends with them starting a future together, having found not only love but also a deep sense of belonging and family in each other, leaving behind the shadows of Briar and the London slums.
The Protagonist
From a naive participant in a con, Sue transforms into a woman who reclaims her identity and finds love and agency.
The Protagonist
From a seemingly submissive victim, Maud becomes an empowered woman who orchestrates her own liberation and finds love.
The Supporting
Her character remains largely consistent in her pragmatic amorality, but her deep-seated affection for both girls is ultimately revealed as a driving force.
The Antagonist
Gentleman remains consistently villainous, his schemes ultimately unraveling due to his overconfidence and the intelligence of the women he sought to exploit.
The Antagonist
His character remains static in his perversion and control, ultimately facing exposure and the loss of his influence.
The Supporting
Dainty's character largely remains consistent, serving as a loyal friend and a reminder of Sue's roots.
The Supporting
John's character remains consistently kind and devoted, serving as a symbol of uncomplicated affection.
The Mentioned
As a deceased character, Charles has no arc, but his memory serves to deepen Mrs. Sucksby's character.
The novel explores how identity changes and is formed. Sue's entire life is a lie, and her journey is about removing false stories to find her true self as Maud Lilly. Maud, in turn, creates a false identity as 'Sue' to escape her past. Both women must face who they truly are, apart from the roles others imposed on them. The constant questioning of names, parents, and personal history makes the reader consider how much of one's identity is natural versus how much is shaped by environment and manipulation. This idea is central to the plot, as the 'switch' forces both main characters into deep self-reflection.
“What was I, if not Sue Trinder? What was I, if not a fingersmith? I had no other self to be.”
Deception drives the plot, woven into every part of the story. From Gentleman's first con to Mrs. Sucksby's elaborate plan, and Maud's own calculated act, characters constantly mislead and manipulate each other. The novel shows how easily people can be fooled, especially when trust is involved. The dual narrative structure executes this idea well, as the reader is initially deceived alongside Sue, only for the truth to be dramatically revealed. This idea goes beyond plot points to explore the psychological impact of living a lie and the moral compromises made for freedom or money.
“I had been a part of a deception so vast, so perfect, that it had swallowed my very name.”
The complex relationship between Sue and Maud is at the novel's core, showing both deep love and devastating betrayal. Their initial bond is based on a lie, with Sue planning to betray Maud. However, real affection grows, only to be broken by Maud's own calculated deceit. The novel explores the pain of being betrayed by someone you love, but also the chance for forgiveness and the strength of true connection. This idea extends to Mrs. Sucksby's complicated love for both girls, which exists alongside her manipulative actions, showing the messy reality of human affection.
“I loved her, I hated her, I loved her again, and all the time I knew I would never truly be free of her.”
The contrast between Mrs. Sucksby's London slums and the isolated, oppressive grandeur of Briar shows the strict class structures of Victorian England. Sue, from the lower class, tries to escape poverty through the inheritance scheme, wanting the social mobility that wealth offers. Maud, though wealthy, is trapped by her social standing and her uncle's control, showing that privilege does not equal freedom. The novel subtly critiques the limits placed on people by their birth and circumstances, and the desperate actions people take to rise above their assigned social roles.
“What was a name, after all? Just a word. But a fortune, that was a thing of substance.”
The common idea of sexual repression and exploitation is shown through Uncle Lilly's pornographic library and his treatment of Maud. Maud is forced into a role that is both intellectually stimulating and deeply humiliating, reading and copying illicit texts for her uncle's perverse pleasure and profit. This shows the societal limits on women's sexuality and agency in the Victorian era, where they could be both objects of desire and victims of exploitation. The implicit and explicit sexual tension between Sue and Maud also challenges these norms, offering an alternative view of female desire and intimacy.
“He taught me to read, not for pleasure, but for his pleasure. To read the words that would burn my cheeks and stain my soul.”
The story is told from two distinct first-person perspectives, creating suspense and revealing hidden truths.
The novel is famously divided into three parts, with the first part narrated by Sue Trinder, and the second part by Maud Lilly. This shift in perspective is a crucial plot device. It initially creates a sense of reliability around Sue's account, only to completely upend the reader's understanding of events when Maud's narrative reveals the full extent of the deception and the identity switch. This technique generates immense suspense, allows for dramatic reveals, and forces the reader to re-evaluate every detail presented in the first half of the book, creating a powerful sense of disorientation and enlightenment.
Both protagonists, Sue and Maud, serve as unreliable narrators at different points, manipulating the reader's perception.
In the first part, Sue is an unreliable narrator because she is fundamentally ignorant of the larger scheme and her own true identity. Her perspective, though honest from her limited understanding, leads the reader to believe a false reality. In the second part, Maud is also an unreliable narrator in retrospect, as her earlier actions and words were part of a performance designed to deceive. This device keeps the reader constantly questioning what is real and who can be trusted, mirroring the characters' own experiences of betrayal and revelation. It's a key element in the novel's mystery and suspense.
A central plot point where two characters exchange identities to achieve their goals.
The core of the novel's intricate plot revolves around the planned identity swap between the true Maud Lilly and the true Sue Trinder. This device is not merely a twist; it's the engine that drives the entire narrative, dictating the characters' actions, motivations, and ultimate fates. It allows for the exploration of themes like identity, deception, and the malleability of self. The meticulous planning and execution of the switch, and its subsequent unraveling, form the backbone of the mystery and the emotional impact of the story, forcing both characters into unfamiliar roles and ultimately leading to their self-discovery.
A symbolic setting and plot catalyst, representing exploitation, intellectual confinement, and hidden desires.
Uncle Lilly's vast library of rare and often illicit books serves as more than just a setting; it's a powerful symbol. It represents the oppressive and perverse world Maud is trapped in, where knowledge is twisted for exploitation rather than enlightenment. The forced act of Maud reading and copying these texts is a form of sexual and intellectual confinement. The library also acts as a catalyst for the plot, as it's the source of Maud's inheritance and the reason for Gentleman's scheme. It symbolizes the dark underbelly of Victorian society and the hidden desires that lurk beneath a veneer of respectability.
A physical and metaphorical prison, representing societal control, madness, and the ultimate threat of being silenced.
The asylum is a crucial setting and a potent symbol. For Sue (the real Maud), it represents the ultimate betrayal and the loss of her identity, a place where sanity is questioned and individual agency is stripped away. For Maud (the real Sue), it is the intended destination for her 'victim.' The threat of the asylum hangs over both women, representing the societal power to label and confine those who challenge norms or become inconvenient. It highlights the vulnerability of women in Victorian society to being deemed 'mad' and silenced, and serves as a literal and metaphorical prison from which both protagonists must escape.
“My name, in those days, was Susan Trinder. People called me Sue. I know the colour of my hair, and of my eyes: I have a memory of my face, which is like a memory of a face in a book.”
— Sue introduces herself at the beginning, establishing her identity and the novel's theme of self-perception.
“There is a sort of ache, I think, that comes from not being able to touch the thing you want.”
— Sue reflects on her longing and desire, often tied to her feelings for Maud.
“I had been made a fool of. I had been made a fool of, and I had made a fool of myself.”
— Sue realizes the depth of the deception in the plot against Maud, highlighting themes of betrayal.
“She had a way of looking at you that made you feel she knew all your secrets, and forgave you for them.”
— Sue describes Maud's penetrating gaze, emphasizing their complex emotional connection.
“The world is full of things that are not what they seem.”
— A recurring idea in the novel, spoken by various characters about the layers of deception.
“I thought I was hard, but I was only brittle.”
— Sue reflects on her own vulnerability after facing emotional turmoil.
“Love is a kind of theft, I think. It takes something from you, and gives you something else in return.”
— Maud muses on the transformative and consuming nature of love.
“You can't trust anyone in this world, not even yourself.”
— A cynical observation made by characters navigating the novel's treacherous plots.
“The past is a ghost that haunts us, but it is also the ground we stand on.”
— Reflects on how characters' histories shape their present actions and identities.
“I wanted to be the one to save her, but I was the one who needed saving.”
— Sue acknowledges her own flaws and dependencies in her relationship with Maud.
“In the dark, all cats are grey, and all secrets are safe.”
— A proverb-like saying used to describe the concealment of truths in the story.
“Sometimes the heart knows things the mind cannot explain.”
— Highlights the intuitive, emotional understanding between Sue and Maud.
“We are all actors in our own dramas, but some of us have better scripts than others.”
— Comments on the performative aspects of identity and social roles in the Victorian setting.
“The truth is a slippery thing, and once you let it go, it's hard to catch again.”
— Warns about the elusive nature of truth in a world filled with lies.
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Sarah Ann Waters is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith.
