Sarah Waters History's Darling

To describe Sarah Waters' work as historical fiction is to acknowledge the redefining and complexity of that genre in contemporary writing. Waters' first novel, 'Tipping the Velvet', a sexy mystery set within London theatrical and gay subcultures, is both a nod to underground gay fiction and a pastiche of Victorian literary and popular sources.

'Affinity' explores the worlds of the spiritualist and the fraudster amid Victorian prison life, while 'Fingersmith' plays with the conventions of the Victorian novel. More recently Waters has turned her attention to the world of wartime and post-war Britain. In 'The Night Watch', four troubled characters work to repress secrets and pursue illicit liaisons amid the chaos and displacements of the Blitz.

'The Little Stranger', a clever riff on the gothic convention, takes place in a crumbling stately home and explores the complexities of class and family relationships in a period of social upheaval.

Waters' fiction has earned her a devoted audience and three Man Booker Prize nominations. Join her in conversation with Lennie Goodings.

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