The Crimson Petal And The White

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 * * The Times * *
A sexy, bravura novel... wildly entertaining * * New York Times * *
Owes as much to John Fowles as it does to Charlotte Bronte. Which is to say that the book is both mind-bogglingly clever and page-turningly tempting. Don't miss it * * Daily Telegraph * *
When a book is this big, it had better be good - this one is. Dive in. Enjoy! -- Alice Sebold
An astonishing narrative sweep that encompasses Victorian society in all its colourful variety, it peels away the surface gentility and brings its world to vivid life. It's a feast for all five senses and in spite of its weight, it's impossible to put down -- VAL MCDERMID
Key to its success is the book's sly acknowledgment of its modernity without recourse to taking up the crude cudgels of irony . . . a sybaritic pleasure and a ripping yarn * * The Times * *
Owes as much to John Fowles as it does to Charlotte Brontë. Which is to say that the book is both mind-bogglingly clever and page-turningly tempting. Don't miss it * * Daily Telegraph * *
An intensely imaginative time-travel experience * * Independent * *
Takes the historical novel and, in the spirit of its subject matter, submits it to a good rogering in terms of graphically exposing the sexual details Dickens and Co. couldn't (or wouldn't) write about * * Sunday Herald * *
It is a long read but a rewarding one. It is also, unsurprisingly, a sexy one. Indeed, at times it seems that the real central characters are the readers, good voyeurs that we are * * Observer * *
The verdict: a scary tome, but crack the spine and you're into a gripping tale . . . Try if you like the thought of Dickens rising again to have a stab at erotic drama * * FHM***** * *
At 828 pages, it's the size of a piglet and twice as heavy. Even so, I find myself lugging it to and fro on the train because my need to know what happens next outweighs the beast -- ROWAN PELLING
Down-and-dirty tale of an upwardly mobile Victorian prostitute . . . a scintillating tour de force * * Sunday Telegraph * *
A cracking read, a Victorian page-turner with a twenty-first-century consciousness. Wilkie Collins would be proud -- LOUISE WELSH
The novel that Dickens might have write had he been allowed to speak freely . . . Faber's writing is so dizzyingly accomplished that he is able to convince you that, just sometimes, the old stories really are the best ones -- KATHRYN HUGHES * * Guardian * *