Crimson Petal And The White

Michel Faber has written eight books, including the highly acclaimed The Fire Gospel, The Fahrenheit Twins and the Whitbread-shortlisted novel Under the Skin. He has also written two novellas, The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps and The Courage Consort, and has won several short-story awards, including the Neil Gunn, Ian St James and Macallan. Born in Holland, brought up in Australia, he now lives in the UK.

This is an unputdownable book; there is no choice but to give in to this most unbelievably pleasurable of narrative rides . . . Faber's take on the nineteenth century English novel is a heady and intoxicating mixture of affection, respect and scabrous resistance