Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Book Review: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Post Thumbnail

Meticulous Fingersmith and Tipping The Velvet writer Sarah Waters heads back a century for her sixth novel, the compelling and richly written The Paying Guests.

Opening up in London in 1922, we meet Mrs Wray, a formerly well-to-do widow and her spinster daughter Frances who have fallen on hard times following the late Mr Wray’s poor investments, and are forced to take in lodgers to make ends meet.

Undated Handout of The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, published by Virago. See PA Feature BOOK Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Virago. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature BOOK Reviews.
Paperback by Virago, £7.99 (ebook £9.50)

Meticulous Fingersmith and Tipping The Velvet writer Sarah Waters heads back a century for her sixth novel, the compelling and richly written The Paying Guests.

Opening up in London in 1922, we meet Mrs Wray, a formerly well-to-do widow and her spinster daughter Frances who have fallen on hard times following the late Mr Wray’s poor investments, and are forced to take in lodgers to make ends meet.

Somewhat brasher and less socially established than the Wrays, Lilian and Leonard Barber, a young upwardly mobile couple from the clerk class, bring a change in their domestic dynamic. Stuck indoors and tasked with doing the back-breaking work that the servants used to do while her ashamed mother is out of sight, the more worldly Frances soon strikes up a bond with the seemingly conservative Lilian, who is adjusting to running her own household.

Through fabulously alive paragraphs, the two young women start a fervent friendship, connecting over a love of books and, before long, fall in love. But the domestic bliss, which luxuriates in a tantalising slow burn, is soon shattered by a tragic event which binds the two women together in a terrifying way. Compelling from the start, with dialogue and detail giving a real sense of place and time, The Paying Guests does nevertheless fall short of topping some of Waters’ justifiably praised earlier novels.