The Crimson Petal And The White - Tapa blanda

From the opening pages it is clear that Faber writes some of the most ravishingly beautiful prose of any young writer. . . Moreover, Faber executes a very daring manipulation of voice. * * Scotland On Sunday * * This is superb writing, consumate artistry. . . here is a book with balls and brains. It's a veritable feast. . . Don't be put off by the size. A month in the company of this mighty book is worth a year in the company of five dozen others. * * bookmunch.co.uk * * This is an unputdownable book; there is no choice but to give in to this most unbelievably pleasurable of narrative rides. From Pointillism to broad brushstroke bravura, the prose seems to be on some benign, timed-release speed: its pace in unflagging, its onward rush irresistible. . . Faber's take on the 19th - century English novel is a heady and intoxicating mixture of affection, respect and scabrous resistance. * * The Times * * unputdownable * * The Guardian * *

Sugar, an alluring, nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs Castaway, yearns for a better life and her ascent through the strata of 1870's London society offers us intimacy with a host of loveable, maddening and superbly realised characters. Gripping from the first page, this immense novel is an intoxicating and deeply satisfying read, not only a wonderful story but the creation of an entire, extraordinary world.