Fingersmith is the type of literary novel that's not being written much these days, a style that fits more with the age of Queen Victoria than the age of Global Terrorism, and therein lies its beauty.
Set in nineteenth century England, Fingersmith narrates the intersecting stories of two young women in seemingly disparate circumstances. Sarah Trindle is a fingersmith, a thief, living in a house of thieves and raised by Mrs. Sucksby, who dotes on the girl as if she were her own daughter, even...