Affinity
Published on 26. June 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-86049-692-9 (ISBN)
Description
'Affinity is the work of an intense and atmospheric imagination . . . Sarah Waters is such an interesting writer, a kind of feminist Dickens' Fiona Pitt-Kethley, Daily Telegraph
Set in and around the women's prison at Milbank in the 1870s, Affinity is an eerie and utterly compelling ghost story, a complex and intriguing literary mystery and a poignant love story with an unexpected twist in the tale. Following the death of her father, Margaret Prior has decided to pursue some 'good work' with the lady criminals of one of London's most notorious gaols. Surrounded by prisoners, murderers and common thieves, Margaret feels herself drawn to one of the prisons more unlikely inmates - the imprisoned spiritualist - Selina Dawes. Sympathetic to the plight of this innocent-seeming girl, Margaret sees herself dispensing guidance and perhaps friendship on her visits, little expecting to find herself dabbling in a twilight world of seances, shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions.
Set in and around the women's prison at Milbank in the 1870s, Affinity is an eerie and utterly compelling ghost story, a complex and intriguing literary mystery and a poignant love story with an unexpected twist in the tale. Following the death of her father, Margaret Prior has decided to pursue some 'good work' with the lady criminals of one of London's most notorious gaols. Surrounded by prisoners, murderers and common thieves, Margaret feels herself drawn to one of the prisons more unlikely inmates - the imprisoned spiritualist - Selina Dawes. Sympathetic to the plight of this innocent-seeming girl, Margaret sees herself dispensing guidance and perhaps friendship on her visits, little expecting to find herself dabbling in a twilight world of seances, shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions.
Reviews / Votes
Refined, repressed and simmering... a delicious tale of Victorian spiritualism -- Mel Steel * Independent on Sunday * Spooky, spellbinding, exquisitely written... I do believe Waters is on the way to becoming a major literary star * Val Hennessy * Beautifully, atmospherically written, this is a tale to thrill your very soul * Metro * An exquisitely sad, pseudo-ghost story... it is a novel that takes countless risks -- Matt Thorne * Independent on Sunday * Affinity is the work of an intense and atmospheric imagination... Sarah Waters is such an interesting writer, a kind of feminist Dickens -- Fiona Pitt-Kethley * Daily Telegraph * Sarah Waters is such a brilliant writer that her readers would believe anything she told them -- A.N. Wilson * Daily Mail * Extraordinary... written in a subtly caricatured period style... So well researched is this novel that both diaries seem grotesquely authentic * The Times * Sexy, spooky, stylish, Affinity is a wonderful book * Guardian * Waters displays her incredible talent for the Gothic historical novel in this splendid book about a Victorian women's prison and the affair there between an inmate and a lady visitor * San Francisco Chronicle * Gothic tale, psychological study, puzzle narrative... superbly suspenseful... This is gripping, astute fiction that feeds the mind and senses * Seattle Times * Unfolds sinuously and ominously... a powerful plot-twister... a truly suspenseful tale of terror; and a piece of elegant, thinly veiled erotica. Like a Ouija board, Affinity offers different messages to different readers, scaring the shrouds off everyone in the process * USA Today * A richly detailed exploration of the mysterious affinity that appears to unite two lonely women... Waters has found a superb metaphor for the love that dares not speak its name, and developed it with remarkable ingenuity and power: another stunning performance * Kirkus *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 201 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
293 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-86049-692-9 (9781860496929)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Sarah Waters, who was born in Wales, has been described as 'one of the best storytellers alive today' (Matt Thorne, Independent), and there can be no doubt that readers and critics alike have been gripped by her extraordinary imagination. Sarah Waters' first novel, Tipping the Velvet, won a Betty Trask Award, and was shortlisted for the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Her next novel, Affinity, won the Somerset Maugham Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award while Fingersmith and The Night Watch were both shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. The former also won the CWA Ellis Peters Dagger Award for Historical Crime Fiction and the South Bank Show Award for Literature. The Little Stranger was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2009 and The Paying Guests was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize in 2015. Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, Fingersmith and The Night Watch have all been adapted for television, The Little Stranger was adapted as a film by Lenny Abrahamson, and Fingersmith inspired Park Chan-wook's film, The Handmaiden. Sarah Waters has been named Author of the Year five times: by the British Book Awards, The Booksellers' Association, Waterstone's Booksellers, Glamour Magazine Awards and the Stonewall Awards. In 2019 she was awarded an OBE for services to literature.