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Zoe Nock (13 KP) rated The Confessions of Frannie Langton in Books
Jun 26, 2019
“My trial starts the way my life did: a squall of elbows and shoving and spit.”
Sometimes a book just grabs you from the beginning, something tells you that treasure lies here. I felt that within a few paragraphs of The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Sara Collins prefaced the novel with an explanation of her enjoyment of stories from Georgian/Victorian era but also her disappoint that she didn’t feel represented in the literature from that time. Her love of literature and that lack of inclusion drove her to write a novel that filled a gap, filled a need for women like Frances Langton to have a voice.
And what a voice! The author embodies Frannie so well. The first thing that struck me was that Frannie’s voice shone through immediately. She sounds so authentic, within a few lines you are engaged and intrigued. So much of the prose is beautiful and evocative, truly poetic. Sara Collins describes the people and places so deftly, you sense the weight of a sultry Jamaican plantation and the drabness of a grey London suburb. You can almost taste the boiling sugar cane and fall under the sway of the delicious, devilish ‘Black Drop’. It’s difficult to read this book without imagining a BBC period drama, it really would make a good screen adaptation. There is no doubt that Collins is a gifted and accomplished writer, a weaver of words both seductive and threatening. I really enjoyed this novel and would like to read anything new from Sara Collins.
Sometimes a book just grabs you from the beginning, something tells you that treasure lies here. I felt that within a few paragraphs of The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Sara Collins prefaced the novel with an explanation of her enjoyment of stories from Georgian/Victorian era but also her disappoint that she didn’t feel represented in the literature from that time. Her love of literature and that lack of inclusion drove her to write a novel that filled a gap, filled a need for women like Frances Langton to have a voice.
And what a voice! The author embodies Frannie so well. The first thing that struck me was that Frannie’s voice shone through immediately. She sounds so authentic, within a few lines you are engaged and intrigued. So much of the prose is beautiful and evocative, truly poetic. Sara Collins describes the people and places so deftly, you sense the weight of a sultry Jamaican plantation and the drabness of a grey London suburb. You can almost taste the boiling sugar cane and fall under the sway of the delicious, devilish ‘Black Drop’. It’s difficult to read this book without imagining a BBC period drama, it really would make a good screen adaptation. There is no doubt that Collins is a gifted and accomplished writer, a weaver of words both seductive and threatening. I really enjoyed this novel and would like to read anything new from Sara Collins.
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ClareR (5721 KP) rated Daughters of Night in Books
Mar 20, 2021
Daughters of Night is set in Georgian London, not a period that I’ve read that much about. I love a good historical novel, and this is definitely one of the good ones! There’s loads of really interesting, accurate (it seems to me!)historical detail, and the characters are well developed people that I wanted to find out more about.
It was surprising that Caro Corsham could investigate a death and a disappearance herself, but I suppose with money and status comes a little freedom - and her husband isn’t in the country for the vast majority of the book. Caro’s thief taker, Peregrine Child, is a great character. A complex man, he wants to do what’s right, despite the fact that he’s paid to do so. He comes with his own set of problems: drinking, gambling, he owes money to the wrong people (if there are ‘right’ ones, I don’t know!), but I really had the impression throughout that he had empathy for the prostitute he was looking for. He realises that these women don’t always choose to do the job, and when they do, it’s because there’s little other choice.
This is a big book, and I listened to it on Audible, so it was a lot of hours - but it didn’t seem that way. The narrator, Lucy Scott, was really engaging, and her different voices were discernible from one another. I’ve done this a couple of times recently with my NetGalley books: I realise that there are some books that just really lend themselves well to being read aloud - and it’s a far more entertaining way to get ready for work or to cook dinner!
I loved this book, and I’d highly recommend it - either in book or audible form!
It was surprising that Caro Corsham could investigate a death and a disappearance herself, but I suppose with money and status comes a little freedom - and her husband isn’t in the country for the vast majority of the book. Caro’s thief taker, Peregrine Child, is a great character. A complex man, he wants to do what’s right, despite the fact that he’s paid to do so. He comes with his own set of problems: drinking, gambling, he owes money to the wrong people (if there are ‘right’ ones, I don’t know!), but I really had the impression throughout that he had empathy for the prostitute he was looking for. He realises that these women don’t always choose to do the job, and when they do, it’s because there’s little other choice.
This is a big book, and I listened to it on Audible, so it was a lot of hours - but it didn’t seem that way. The narrator, Lucy Scott, was really engaging, and her different voices were discernible from one another. I’ve done this a couple of times recently with my NetGalley books: I realise that there are some books that just really lend themselves well to being read aloud - and it’s a far more entertaining way to get ready for work or to cook dinner!
I loved this book, and I’d highly recommend it - either in book or audible form!
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