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It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned, the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa, a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband and even servants, life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers. For with the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the 'clerk class', the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways.
Once wealthy but now impoverished, Frances and her mother struggle to adjust to their new houseguests. But cracks are soon apparent in the Barbers’ relationship, and Frances and Lilian are drawn closer together. When their friendship turns to love, they create a tangle of lies to keep their secret from those around them. This is vintage Sarah Waters: beautifully described with excruciating tension, real tenderness, believable characters, and surprises. It is above all, a wonderful, compelling story.
Paperback, 416 Pages, Published June 2015
Author: Sarah Waters