Affinity
On sale
3rd May 2012
Price: £10.99
‘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.
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Reviews
Refined, repressed and simmering... a delicious tale of Victorian spiritualism
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
Sarah Waters is such a brilliant writer that her readers would believe anything she told them
Sexy, spooky, stylish, Affinity is a wonderful book
Affinity is the work of an intense and atmospheric imagination... Sarah Waters is such an interesting writer, a kind of feminist Dickens
Spooky, spellbinding, exquisitely written... I do believe Waters is on the way to becoming a major literary star
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
Extraordinary... written in a subtly caricatured period style... So well researched is this novel that both diaries seem grotesquely authentic
Gothic tale, psychological study, puzzle narrative... superbly suspenseful... This is gripping, astute fiction that feeds the mind and senses
An exquisitely sad, pseudo-ghost story... it is a novel that takes countless risks
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
Beautifully, atmospherically written, this is a tale to thrill your very soul
