Author
- Michel Faber
Books
- The Crimson Petal and the White
- The Apple
Characters
- Sugar
- Sophie Rackham
- William Rackham
- Emmeline Fox
- Agnes Rackham
- Henry Rackham
Brief Summary
The main characters include William Rackham, the unwilling heir to a perfume business; Agnes, William's brittle, long-suffering "mad wife in the attic"; and Sugar, a decidedly unconventional and strong-willed young prostitute whose intense affair with William gives her the opportunity to climb to a higher perch in the rigidly stratified class system of the time. Other characters include Henry Rackham, William's pious brother who wants to be a clergyman and his friend Emmeline Fox, a widow who works in the Rescue Society that tries to reform prostitutes. The novel is told from the perspective of all of the main characters, and the omniscient narrator occasionally addresses the reader directly. There is also a metaliterary aspect, as Sugar is working on her own novel, Henry writes sermons, and Agnes keeps a diary. The novel was generally well-received by critics.
See Also
- N/A