the crimson petal and the white book review

Be forewarned: this is a long novel that requires commitment, its twists and turns only rarely predictable. It's hopeless to resist' ( Entertainment Weekly). Brutal and compassionate, The Crimson Petal and the White contains all the elements of daily drama, hours spent in toil from dawn to dusk or carelessly wasted on drink, dance and endless entertainment.

'Cocky and brilliant, amused and angry, is rightfully earning comparisons to observer extraordinaire Charles Dickens.

Twenty years in its conception, research, and writing, The Crimson Petal and the White is teeming with life, rich in texture and incident, with breathtakingly real characters. Infatuated with Sugar, William’s patronage brings her into the circles of his family and milieu: his wife who barely overcomes chronic hysteria to make her appearances during “the Season” his mysteriously hidden-away daughter, left to the care of minions his pious brother, foiled in his devotional calling by his lust for the Widow Fox as well as preening socialites, drunken journalists, untrustworthy servants, vile guttersnipes, and whores of all stripes and persuasions. Following the ups and (especially) downs of a notorious prostitute named Sugar, the story revels in the grit and filth of the era. Persevere and get past the first three chapters, the only time the author missteps by peppering them with vulgarity meant to shock and titillate the reader. The book was absolutely compelling another review here said this. If youre not a reader and youre curious about the whole Crimson Petal obsession, but are on the fence and hoping to use the TV series as a cliffnotes version, skip it and read the book. Her ascent through the strata of Victorian society begins with the egotistical perfume magnate William Rackham. The Crimson Petal and White stars Romola Garai, who always gives an interesting. Sugar, a nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. At the heart of this panoramic narrative is a young woman’s struggle to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. A teenage prostitute ascends through the many layers of Victorian London society in this highly acclaimed “big, sexy, bravura novel” ( New York Times). The Crimson Petal and the White is a book, and it will win or lose the trust of each reader when they begin reading its pages. THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE both is and is not a book about sex.

The crimson petal and the white book review