Book Synopsis:
‘They say I must be put to death for what happened to Madame, and they want me to confess. But how can I confess what I don’t believe I’ve done?’
1826, and all of London is in a frenzy. Crowds gather at the gates of the Old Bailey to watch as Frannie Langton, maid to Mr and Mrs Benham, goes on trial for their murder. The testimonies against her are damning – slave, whore, seductress. And they may be the truth. But they are not the whole truth.
For the first time Frannie must tell her story. It begins with a girl learning to read on a plantation in Jamaica, and it ends in a grand house in London, where a beautiful woman waits to be freed.
But through her fevered confessions, one burning question haunts Frannie Langton: could she have murdered the only person she ever loved?
A beautiful and haunting tale about one woman’s fight to tell her story, The Confessions of Frannie Langton leads you through laudanum-laced dressing rooms and dark-as-night back alleys, into the enthralling heart of Georgian London.
The Confessions Of Frannie Langton is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.
My Review:
The Confessions Of Frannie Langton is a beautifully written, absorbing but haunting debut novel that will stay with me for a long time.
Firstly the historical detail in this book is amazing! The author has clearly done a lot of research for this book which helps to transport the reader to the era and imagine it in their minds. I liked reading about all the scientific discoveries and ideas at the time, some of which I didn’t know about. It was especially interesting to see more about the attitudes towards women who were very much controlled by the strict standards for the time regardless of what they were rich or poor. This helped make the story a fascinating read for me and the attention to detail made the story come alive and feel very real.
Frannie was a very interesting and well developed character that I felt a lot of sympathy for. Her life as a slave is a hard, uncertain life where no one particularly cares about her. I often found myself getting a little teary whilst reading these parts as it’s hard to imagine people being treated that way. What I liked most about her is how honest and matter of fact she is about everything. She knows she’s not perfect as she’s made a few mistakes and it’s this honesty that made me like her even more. I felt quite protective of her at times and wished that I was able to help her.
The court case itself was also quite fascinating to read about as it seemed both quite similar to how things are done now but also quite different. It seemed to be more about putting on a show for the audience and the drama of the occasion then the actual case which I’ve heard mentioned before but not in so much detail. It was very interesting to see the case develop and all the evidence put forward.
If I had one criticism of this book it would be that I wish the pace was slightly faster. I enjoyed getting absorbed in the story and learning more about Frannie, but I worry it will put some people off reading this fabulous book. Do keep going as it is a great book which gets very interesting!
Huge thanks to Charlotte from Love Reading for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Viking for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review. If you like absorbing historical fiction then you’ll love this book!
About The Author:
Sara Collins studied law at the London School of Economics and worked as a lawyer for seventeen years. In 2014 she embarked upon the Creative Writing Masters at Cambridge University, where she won the 2015 Michael Holroyd Prize of Re-creative Writing and was shortlisted for the 2016 Lucy Cavendish Prize for a book inspired by her love of gothic fiction. This turned into her first novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton.
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