Status
Checked out
Publication
Riverhead Books (2002), Edition: Reprint, 368 pages
Description
"Gothic tale, psychological study, puzzle narrative...This is gripping, astute fiction that feeds the mind and senses."--The Seattle Times An upper-class woman recovering from a suicide attempt, Margaret Prior has begun visiting the women's ward of Millbank prison, Victorian London's grimmest jail, as part of her rehabilitative charity work. Amongst Millbank's murderers and common thieves, Margaret finds herself increasingly fascinated by on apparently innocent inmate, the enigmatic spiritualist Selina Dawes. Selina was imprisoned after a séance she was conducting went horribly awry, leaving an elderly matron dead and a young woman deeply disturbed. Although initially skeptical of Selina's gifts, Margaret is soon drawn into a twilight world of ghosts and shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions, until she is at last driven to concoct a desperate plot to secure Selina's freedom, and her own. As in her noteworthy deput, Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters brilliantly evokes the sights and smells of a moody and beguiling nineteenth-century London, and proves herself yet again a storyteller, in the words of the New York Times Book Review, of "startling power."… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member samantha.1020
A few weeks ago I shared my thoughts on the first half of this book here. I was enjoying the atmosphere that the author created, I found the main character intriguing, and was very interested in seeing where the story was going to go next. And I'm going to admit that I went into the book with high
Disclosure: I checked this book out from my local library but I'm thinking about buying my own copy as I enjoyed this one so much. Thanks to Andi for hosting this readalong and finally giving me the push to give this author a try!
Show More
expectations after hearing all of the accolades concerning the author and her novels. I'm happy to share that this book lived up to all of my expectations, and I found this to be a wonderful reading experience. My favorite part of this book was the gloomy, creepy atmosphere that the author creates. The prison, where a huge part of the story takes place, seems to take on a life of its' own and I couldn't help but wonder at the mysteries and horrors that it held within its' walls. Margaret was such a curious and mysterious main character. I never could guess what she was going to do throughout the story and found her actions to be surprising at times. And Selina. I constantly wondered about her "spiritualism" and if anything that she was saying was true or how could it possibly not be true. The whole book was a mystery for me until the very end. The ending of the book blew me away...and yet when I thought about it afterwards it wasn't all that unexpected but it sure worked. It was the type of ending that left me thinking about it for a couple of days afterwards if that tells you anything :) All in all, this is a book that I would highly recommend and an author that I will be reading much more of.Disclosure: I checked this book out from my local library but I'm thinking about buying my own copy as I enjoyed this one so much. Thanks to Andi for hosting this readalong and finally giving me the push to give this author a try!
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookmagic
After her father's death, Margaret Prior becomes despondent. Before he died, she was to have gone to Italy with him and her friend, Helen, with whom Margaret was in love with. Now Helen is married to Margaret's brother and their sister, Priscilla is also getting married. Her physician suggests that
I don't want to say much more about the plot for fear of giving something away. But let me say that I loved this book. It takes place in Victorian London, it has a Dickensian prison and wardens. It has psychics and mediums. Margaret is a lonely character. She does not want to marry or have children. She is haunted by her love for Helen and desperately sad over the loss of her intellectual father, the only one who understood her.
Margaret's story alternates with that of Selina's and we see how she ended up in prison.
Though I was not a fan of Waters' The Little Stranger which everyone else raved about, I thought Affinity was incredibly well-written, with fleshed out characters and a brilliant plot. Her descriptions of Millbank Prison, the matrons in charge of the women prisoners, and the prisoners themselves are very well researched, as are stories of the spiritualist community.
This book is a must, must read! It is very atmospheric and Gothic-like. In case I didn't mention it, I loved it.
my rating 5/5
Show More
Margaret become a Lady Visitor at Millbank Prison, to be a comfort and example to the women. Margaret meets several of the prisoners and becomes obsessed with one, Selina Dawes, a spiritualist imprisoned for fraud.I don't want to say much more about the plot for fear of giving something away. But let me say that I loved this book. It takes place in Victorian London, it has a Dickensian prison and wardens. It has psychics and mediums. Margaret is a lonely character. She does not want to marry or have children. She is haunted by her love for Helen and desperately sad over the loss of her intellectual father, the only one who understood her.
Margaret's story alternates with that of Selina's and we see how she ended up in prison.
Though I was not a fan of Waters' The Little Stranger which everyone else raved about, I thought Affinity was incredibly well-written, with fleshed out characters and a brilliant plot. Her descriptions of Millbank Prison, the matrons in charge of the women prisoners, and the prisoners themselves are very well researched, as are stories of the spiritualist community.
This book is a must, must read! It is very atmospheric and Gothic-like. In case I didn't mention it, I loved it.
my rating 5/5
Show Less
LibraryThing member Smiler69
When Margaret Prior accepts to become a 'Lady Visitor' at Millbank Prison in London, she is far from suspecting what tangled skeins await her in the endless corridors of the dank and cold prison, with it's wing holding women prisoners who are there for crimes as diverse as attempted suicide,
Margaret is only interested in listening to the women speak of their experiences and describe their crimes rather than giving pious sermons to the women, as other lady visitors tend to do, and she is taken by the matrons around the jail to see how it is run, which allows the reader to get a comprehensive view of how things stood for women prisoners in 1874. It is rather obvious that Waters did thorough research for the novel and the details are many and quite striking. She writes beautifully and sets the mood perfectly so that one is carried along fascinating scenery in expectation of events to come. To some readers these scenes might seem too prolonged, but I found the details fascinating and as I listened to the audio version beautifully narrated by Juanita McMahon, was all too happy to be carried along the story at a deliberately observant pace.
When Margaret first sees Selina Dawes alone in her cell with her pale face turned to the sun, her attention is arrested. Selina is holding a violet, which she can't possibly have obtained from within the prison, so that its very presence there seems almost miraculous. Selina herself has a delicate and mysterious beauty, and soon Margaret visits her regularly and learns she is a spirit medium who is continually in contact with ghosts. Selina claims the ghosts bring her gifts, such as that violet Margaret saw her with. Furthermore, she says they can spirit her out of the jail anytime they wish to, but that they have a purpose for having sent her there, and soon it emerges that the purpose is for Margaret and Selina to have come together, for they are each other's Affinity.
But this is no simple lesbian romance story. And if one is patient enough and can enjoy the journey, the novel becomes a suspenseful ride which is impossible to put down in the second half and promises a big reveal in the end.
Show More
infanticide, arson, petty theft, and fraud. Recovering from an undefined illness brought on by the grief following the death of her father, she believes this will be a worthwhile occupation to fill her time away from home and her overbearing mother, and will bring much-needed relief to the women prisoners who are living in deplorable conditions in the jail, where the emphasis, typical of the times, is on punishment. Her presence gives the prisoners a rare opportunity in the day to speak to someone, for they are expected to be silent at all times otherwise, and it gives them a small break in their continual chores, as well as a chance for some empathy from a stranger rather than the harsh treatment they can expect from the prison matrons who seem to delight in taunting them continually. Margaret is only interested in listening to the women speak of their experiences and describe their crimes rather than giving pious sermons to the women, as other lady visitors tend to do, and she is taken by the matrons around the jail to see how it is run, which allows the reader to get a comprehensive view of how things stood for women prisoners in 1874. It is rather obvious that Waters did thorough research for the novel and the details are many and quite striking. She writes beautifully and sets the mood perfectly so that one is carried along fascinating scenery in expectation of events to come. To some readers these scenes might seem too prolonged, but I found the details fascinating and as I listened to the audio version beautifully narrated by Juanita McMahon, was all too happy to be carried along the story at a deliberately observant pace.
When Margaret first sees Selina Dawes alone in her cell with her pale face turned to the sun, her attention is arrested. Selina is holding a violet, which she can't possibly have obtained from within the prison, so that its very presence there seems almost miraculous. Selina herself has a delicate and mysterious beauty, and soon Margaret visits her regularly and learns she is a spirit medium who is continually in contact with ghosts. Selina claims the ghosts bring her gifts, such as that violet Margaret saw her with. Furthermore, she says they can spirit her out of the jail anytime they wish to, but that they have a purpose for having sent her there, and soon it emerges that the purpose is for Margaret and Selina to have come together, for they are each other's Affinity.
But this is no simple lesbian romance story. And if one is patient enough and can enjoy the journey, the novel becomes a suspenseful ride which is impossible to put down in the second half and promises a big reveal in the end.
Show Less
LibraryThing member YossarianXeno
Sarah Waters brings the two lead characters in her second novel vividly to life. One is a spiritualist, incacerated in the womens wing of London's 19th century Millbank Prison, the other a "lady visitor" seeking to bring some minimal interest to the inmates miserable and bleak lives. Further
The eerry plot - with shades of a ghost story - is not the type of book that would usually appeal to me. For that reason, Affinity didn't absorb me in the way Waters's great novel, Fingersmith did. But is is a tribute to the quality of Waters' writing that I read the book quickly, and with real interest. I'd highly recommend it to anyome with a taste for eerry historical tales.
Show More
elaboration might reveal too much for those still to read the book, but Waters' uncanny ability to convey emotion and - in this novel as in Little Stranger - impart what might be best described as a sense of erriness is a measure of her huge skill as a writer. Also pleasing is the way she seamlessly blends historical research into her narrative.The eerry plot - with shades of a ghost story - is not the type of book that would usually appeal to me. For that reason, Affinity didn't absorb me in the way Waters's great novel, Fingersmith did. But is is a tribute to the quality of Waters' writing that I read the book quickly, and with real interest. I'd highly recommend it to anyome with a taste for eerry historical tales.
Show Less
LibraryThing member HanGerg
I loved Sarah Waters before I read this, and I love her even more now. I think this is a terrific book, baring all of what I think of as the Waters' hallmarks - a brilliantly written tale, with a tightly constructed plot, memorable characters whose emotional inner lives are writ large on the page
Waters' chief subject matter in all her novels is the lived experience of women, and what it means to be a woman. This novel is more like this than most - it barely even has any male characters at all. It examines the Victorian attitude to womanhood from almost every angle - from the timid and socially trapped young woman (already branded a spinster for being unmarried at 30), the attractive and therefore successful elder sister, the overbearing mother, the "fallen" women in the prison and the starchy matrons that keep them there, even the gaggle of women that attend Selina's black circles - all of these lives are laid bare for our examination, and feel real and complete, however fleeting a glimpse we get of them. One of the few male characters in the story makes a disparaging comment about how all women novelists can only write stories of the heart, a charge that may well have been laid at Waters' door, as her novels are brimming over with feeling, but in the fiendish plotting and an ending that left me reeling, there is evidence of a great deal of "head" as well. Truly, one of the best writers currently working, in my humble opinion.
Show More
and an incredibly powerful atmosphere and sense of place. This story's chief protagonist is Margaret, a young lady in Victorian London, who becomes the lady visitor at a women's prison. She falls under the spell of Selina Dawes, a disgraced spiritualist who has ended up in the jail after a "visit" has gone tragically wrong in ambiguous circumstances. Margaret is a sensitive soul who has had her share of tragedy and suffering, and senses in Selina a kindred spirit. Selina senses it also, and their friendship soon proves to have life changing consequences for both of them.....Waters' chief subject matter in all her novels is the lived experience of women, and what it means to be a woman. This novel is more like this than most - it barely even has any male characters at all. It examines the Victorian attitude to womanhood from almost every angle - from the timid and socially trapped young woman (already branded a spinster for being unmarried at 30), the attractive and therefore successful elder sister, the overbearing mother, the "fallen" women in the prison and the starchy matrons that keep them there, even the gaggle of women that attend Selina's black circles - all of these lives are laid bare for our examination, and feel real and complete, however fleeting a glimpse we get of them. One of the few male characters in the story makes a disparaging comment about how all women novelists can only write stories of the heart, a charge that may well have been laid at Waters' door, as her novels are brimming over with feeling, but in the fiendish plotting and an ending that left me reeling, there is evidence of a great deal of "head" as well. Truly, one of the best writers currently working, in my humble opinion.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mrstreme
Affinity by Sarah Waters combined so many exquisite storytelling elements –colorful characters, a plot that kept you guessing and a Victorian setting that framed the story perfectly. If you love Victorian novels, then Affinity is a novel not to miss.
Margaret Prior was an unmarried lady who was
Learning more about Selina’s plight, Margaret became more interested in spiritualism, and Waters masterfully wove Victorians’ obsession with ghosts and mediums into the story, allowing the reader to learn more about this aspect of Victorian culture. Eventually, Margaret’s interest in Selina became more deep and attached – to the point that Margaret agreed to aid Selina’s prison escape.
Margaret and Selina proved to be characters that were sympathetic and unforgettable. Margaret was emotionally fragile, unsure about her sexual orientation in a sexually repressed society – the perfect candidate to assist Selina. The young medium was depicted as someone lost; her innocence slightly suspect, but a character you hoped the best for (she reminded me of Margaret Atwood’s Grace in Alias Grace). Together, their relationship was emotionally charged and great to read.
I selected Affinity to read as my first book of October because of its ghostly elements. I was pleasantly surprised that I got much more than a ghost story. Affinity was a great psychological thriller and historical fiction novel. If you love these genres, then make sure to put this book on your TBR list.
Margaret Prior was an unmarried lady who was
Show More
mourning the death of her father and the marriage of her childhood lover, Helen. To find a purpose with her life, she became a “Lady Visitor” at Millbank Prison, specifically to the troubled female prisoners who could benefit from visits by a society woman. During her visits, Margaret found a special attachment to one inmate – Selina Dawes – a medium arrested for allegedly beating a young girl and causing the death of her guardian.Learning more about Selina’s plight, Margaret became more interested in spiritualism, and Waters masterfully wove Victorians’ obsession with ghosts and mediums into the story, allowing the reader to learn more about this aspect of Victorian culture. Eventually, Margaret’s interest in Selina became more deep and attached – to the point that Margaret agreed to aid Selina’s prison escape.
Margaret and Selina proved to be characters that were sympathetic and unforgettable. Margaret was emotionally fragile, unsure about her sexual orientation in a sexually repressed society – the perfect candidate to assist Selina. The young medium was depicted as someone lost; her innocence slightly suspect, but a character you hoped the best for (she reminded me of Margaret Atwood’s Grace in Alias Grace). Together, their relationship was emotionally charged and great to read.
I selected Affinity to read as my first book of October because of its ghostly elements. I was pleasantly surprised that I got much more than a ghost story. Affinity was a great psychological thriller and historical fiction novel. If you love these genres, then make sure to put this book on your TBR list.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ocgreg34
Margaret Prior decides to perform volunteer work at Victorian London's Millbank Prison, providing services as a Visitor to the women's facility. She needs something to do after her failed suicide attempt to keep her mind busy, and though her mother doesn't like the idea of her daughter spending her
During one of her rounds, she notices a solitary inmate, sitting in a semi-dark cell and clandestinely admiring a small flower within her hand. She learns from one of the prison matron's that the woman is Selina Dawes, currently being held due to a séance gone wrong. Intrigued, Margaret takes it upon her self to learn more about Miss Dawes and begins spending more time with her. As the days and weeks pass, Margaret discovers that she is more than simply intrigued by Selina and her world of ghosts and spirits, and as her infatuation grows, so does her plan to find some way to free Selina from Millbank.
The story is told through the pages of Margaret's diary so in a grand way, that affected my desire for Margaret to be happy. Reading her thoughts about her family, how her view of the world changed after her suicide attempt, her delight at the new-found experiences with Selina -- it makes the connection with Margaret that much easier and in turn tricks you into believing and feeling just as she does.
What makes "Affinity" work for me is what I would consider the twist near the end. I know that I should have seen it coming, but the story of Margaret and her interest in Selina and her connection with the spirit world had me so wrapped up that I found myself mentally nudging Margaret forward to pursue the relationship, always seeing the happy ending, just as Margaret did. But that twist....
It's a wonderful novel, filled with characters so well crafted you can almost sense yourself walking around Millbank with them. And the story drags you in and keeps you in its clutches until the very end, like a good story should.
Show More
time at a prison, Margaret finds comfort in her new duties.During one of her rounds, she notices a solitary inmate, sitting in a semi-dark cell and clandestinely admiring a small flower within her hand. She learns from one of the prison matron's that the woman is Selina Dawes, currently being held due to a séance gone wrong. Intrigued, Margaret takes it upon her self to learn more about Miss Dawes and begins spending more time with her. As the days and weeks pass, Margaret discovers that she is more than simply intrigued by Selina and her world of ghosts and spirits, and as her infatuation grows, so does her plan to find some way to free Selina from Millbank.
The story is told through the pages of Margaret's diary so in a grand way, that affected my desire for Margaret to be happy. Reading her thoughts about her family, how her view of the world changed after her suicide attempt, her delight at the new-found experiences with Selina -- it makes the connection with Margaret that much easier and in turn tricks you into believing and feeling just as she does.
What makes "Affinity" work for me is what I would consider the twist near the end. I know that I should have seen it coming, but the story of Margaret and her interest in Selina and her connection with the spirit world had me so wrapped up that I found myself mentally nudging Margaret forward to pursue the relationship, always seeing the happy ending, just as Margaret did. But that twist....
It's a wonderful novel, filled with characters so well crafted you can almost sense yourself walking around Millbank with them. And the story drags you in and keeps you in its clutches until the very end, like a good story should.
Show Less
LibraryThing member xicanti
A gently-bred woman with scholarly inclinations becomes involved in a plot to break a medium out of prison.
I'll say this for Sarah Waters: she is damned good at evoking whichever time period she turns her hand to. This book feels exactly like a book set in 1870's London should feel. The characters'
Unfortunately, the rest of it doesn't quite live up to the set dressings. All the blurbs emphasize the tension, the subtlety, the clever twists and turns. And maybe this book is tense, subtle, and cleverly twisted if you don't know the story.... but COME ON, people! This's one of the classics! This story's been told a thousand times! I know it pretty damned well. I'd wager you do, too. I mean, yes, there's a lesbian twist, and that's a nice thing to see, but the bones are the same.
That's not to say that the story can never, ever work. It has been told a thousand times, after all, and some of those tellings are pretty durned compelling. I've thought about it a lot since I finished AFFINITY, and I've decided that it's a matter of trust. The author has to make you trust the story. She has to make you believe in the characters. And, in doing so, she needs to convince you that this is not the same story. This couldn't be the same story, because it if is... well, it's not, so we're not going to go down that road. You have to forget all about that. You have to trust the story.
Did I trust AFFINITY? Not for a bloody moment.
I think I might have, though, if I'd been able to feel for Margaret. There were a couple of times where Waters punched me in the gut, but for the most part I just couldn't connect with her. I wanted to. I tried my hardest. I told myself that I found her scholarly leanings, her repressed sexuality and her romantic failures heartwrenching, but I never really did. And, worst of all, I can't really tell you why that was the case. Characterization is a slippery slope. There is nothing wrong with Waters' portrayal of Margaret--in fact, it's quite remarkable, on a technical level--and yet she did very little for me.
So that's that. I'll leave it there, because I'm sure I've said too much already. This isn't a bad book, but it could have been much, much better. If you're a hardcore Waters fan, you probably want to check this out, regardless of my poor opinion; others, you'd do better to read FINGERSMITH or TIPPING THE VELVET instead. They've got a lot more going for them.
(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).
I'll say this for Sarah Waters: she is damned good at evoking whichever time period she turns her hand to. This book feels exactly like a book set in 1870's London should feel. The characters'
Show More
attitudes and reactions are spot on. The setting is beautifully realized. The whole thing even smells like the 1870's, with its thick fogs and coal-burning stoves, cold prison walls and richly decorated parlors. And the spiritualism? My goodness, is it ever interesting stuff! Seriously, people, you'll feel like you're there. It's brilliant.Unfortunately, the rest of it doesn't quite live up to the set dressings. All the blurbs emphasize the tension, the subtlety, the clever twists and turns. And maybe this book is tense, subtle, and cleverly twisted if you don't know the story.... but COME ON, people! This's one of the classics! This story's been told a thousand times! I know it pretty damned well. I'd wager you do, too. I mean, yes, there's a lesbian twist, and that's a nice thing to see, but the bones are the same.
That's not to say that the story can never, ever work. It has been told a thousand times, after all, and some of those tellings are pretty durned compelling. I've thought about it a lot since I finished AFFINITY, and I've decided that it's a matter of trust. The author has to make you trust the story. She has to make you believe in the characters. And, in doing so, she needs to convince you that this is not the same story. This couldn't be the same story, because it if is... well, it's not, so we're not going to go down that road. You have to forget all about that. You have to trust the story.
Did I trust AFFINITY? Not for a bloody moment.
I think I might have, though, if I'd been able to feel for Margaret. There were a couple of times where Waters punched me in the gut, but for the most part I just couldn't connect with her. I wanted to. I tried my hardest. I told myself that I found her scholarly leanings, her repressed sexuality and her romantic failures heartwrenching, but I never really did. And, worst of all, I can't really tell you why that was the case. Characterization is a slippery slope. There is nothing wrong with Waters' portrayal of Margaret--in fact, it's quite remarkable, on a technical level--and yet she did very little for me.
So that's that. I'll leave it there, because I'm sure I've said too much already. This isn't a bad book, but it could have been much, much better. If you're a hardcore Waters fan, you probably want to check this out, regardless of my poor opinion; others, you'd do better to read FINGERSMITH or TIPPING THE VELVET instead. They've got a lot more going for them.
(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).
Show Less
LibraryThing member magst
One word that best describes it is odd. However odd doesn't mean bad. It kept me guessing and questioning if I really knew what was going to happen. The end surprised me! Every time I pick this book up I read something I didn't catch the first time.
LibraryThing member ColeReadsBooks
A sad Gothic novel filled with a continuing feeling of dread.
Margaret Prior is recovering from a suicide attempt. After the death of her father she arranges to attend a local prison a few days a week to visit the prisoners - to talk and comfort them. On her rounds she meets Selina Dawes, and the
This book is a hard one for me to describe. This is the first time I have ever read anything by Sarah Waters, and having read the synopsis for the book I was quite excited to read it. I love Gothic novels and this one, with the hint of supernatural just sounded fantastic. Alas I came away feeling somewhat disappointed.
The novel is certainly a dreary one, and I often felt a little boring, crawling through pages of depressing monologue. I often found I had to put it down and read something a bit more entertaining and then return to it. On that notion I was planning to give this book only two stars, it was a little long winded for me.
But then when I finally finished the book (for it took me a while) I had the strange feeling that I’d just finishing something incredible. It deals a lot with social conventions of the time on subjects such as suicide and lesbianism, both punishable extremely severely, and the idea that because Margaret is a lady, her suicide attempt is swept under the rug. It has much to say about the double standards between different classes in the Victorian period. It also deals a lot with the prison system and how prisoners were treated in that time, there are some intense, almost frightening chapters in which prisoners are taken to solitary confinement, and the way they are horrifically treated.
The thing that stood out most for me was the mystery element. That I really enjoyed. The whole plot keeps you guessing, can Selina really contact spirits, or is a conjurer of cheap tricks? The whole story is a very sad and dismal love story. I also rather liked the switching of point of view for each chapter. Half the chapters follow Margaret as she goes to the prison, deals with her sisters marriage and her invasive mother, and the other half tell the story of Selina before she was imprisoned. I preferred Selina’s chapters myself as I found them more interesting, leaving little clues to the possibility of her being a medium or not.
Affinity is a very subtle and moving novel. It is filled with dense, bleak imagery that really does conjure up a very intense atmosphere of despair. This book may not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for something outside of the box, this one might be just what you’re looking for.
Margaret Prior is recovering from a suicide attempt. After the death of her father she arranges to attend a local prison a few days a week to visit the prisoners - to talk and comfort them. On her rounds she meets Selina Dawes, and the
Show More
two strike up a friendship. Selina is a medium, imprisoned for a seance gone wrong. Unsure whether to believe Selina’s gifts are real, Margaret is drawn to the prison more and more, desperate to understand who and what Selina really is.This book is a hard one for me to describe. This is the first time I have ever read anything by Sarah Waters, and having read the synopsis for the book I was quite excited to read it. I love Gothic novels and this one, with the hint of supernatural just sounded fantastic. Alas I came away feeling somewhat disappointed.
The novel is certainly a dreary one, and I often felt a little boring, crawling through pages of depressing monologue. I often found I had to put it down and read something a bit more entertaining and then return to it. On that notion I was planning to give this book only two stars, it was a little long winded for me.
But then when I finally finished the book (for it took me a while) I had the strange feeling that I’d just finishing something incredible. It deals a lot with social conventions of the time on subjects such as suicide and lesbianism, both punishable extremely severely, and the idea that because Margaret is a lady, her suicide attempt is swept under the rug. It has much to say about the double standards between different classes in the Victorian period. It also deals a lot with the prison system and how prisoners were treated in that time, there are some intense, almost frightening chapters in which prisoners are taken to solitary confinement, and the way they are horrifically treated.
The thing that stood out most for me was the mystery element. That I really enjoyed. The whole plot keeps you guessing, can Selina really contact spirits, or is a conjurer of cheap tricks? The whole story is a very sad and dismal love story. I also rather liked the switching of point of view for each chapter. Half the chapters follow Margaret as she goes to the prison, deals with her sisters marriage and her invasive mother, and the other half tell the story of Selina before she was imprisoned. I preferred Selina’s chapters myself as I found them more interesting, leaving little clues to the possibility of her being a medium or not.
Affinity is a very subtle and moving novel. It is filled with dense, bleak imagery that really does conjure up a very intense atmosphere of despair. This book may not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for something outside of the box, this one might be just what you’re looking for.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ijustgetbored
Affinity tells the story of the mentally unstable 30-year-old Margarent (she of many names), still in mourning for her beloved father and for a broken relationship, who, as a form of duty and generally putting herself out into society again as an upper-class woman, begins visiting dreary Millbank
Affinity has several things going for it: it's beautifully written, with passages of the protaganist, Margarent's, elegant, lush, fevered prose alternating with short sections of the prisoner Selina's short matter-of-fact writings. It truly brings the world of Millbank prison to life; it's hard to come away from a description of it and not feel enclosed and cold yourself. Waters has a truly exacting eye for detail; the Victorian world comes to vivid life. It's also a crash course in spiritualism; without ever belaboring points or dragging the reader through tedious academic detail, you manage to learn a good bit about mediumship and the tricks of the trade as well as about the popular perception of mediumship in the 1870s. Waters has clearly done her background work.
And yet . . . it's hard to feel any true sympathy for Margaret. She has one clear insight into the differences of class that I can think of; otherwise, she seems blind to the fact that all the women in prison are lower class and obliged to kowtow to her (though the wardens often snidely point out that there are "ladies" there, too). Her prose can turn somewhat purple at times; whether this is intended to reflect her overagitated state of mind or is simply Waters getting carried away, I do not know, but it does wear thin and bog the novel down sometimes. And, as other reviewers have noted, the "mystery" to the novel is a little bit obvious; the big reveal isn't all that much of a surprise, which is disappointing. A few of the characters run to the stereotype: the obnoxious little sister, the overbearing mother. I would have liked to have heard more about Pa, would have liked to have more about him fleshed out, especially as he is so integral to Margaret's life. It's as if most of the work in characterization went into making Selina mysterious and hard to pin down, and the other characters were made a little less rich for it.
Still, the novel is an interesting snapshot of the repressive Victorian era: repressive in its sexual mores, repressive in its family structures, repressive in its morality, repressive in its beliefs, &c. It is morbidly fascinating to watch one woman's mind degenerate and bloom in other ways as she expands the limits of what she finds acceptable. It's like watching a flower blossom while knowing all the while that it must die.
Show More
prison as a "Lady Visitor." Her visits there are intended to be morally uplilfiting for the prisoners locked away therein. She quickly becomes infatuated with the intriguing and myterious Selina Dawes, a spiritualist medium, who is serving a most unusual of sentences. Selina seems to know more about Margaret than is possible, seems to be able to communicate with her across spatial divides; she seems generally unconstrained by what holds others in. In her journal, which forms the bulk of the narrative, Margaret charts her increasing obsession with this young woman while also making observations about the miserable conditions of the prison and the inequity of the way men are allowed to conduct themselves in the rigid Victorian society (though she seems to remain blind to class difference, with a few flashes of insight).Affinity has several things going for it: it's beautifully written, with passages of the protaganist, Margarent's, elegant, lush, fevered prose alternating with short sections of the prisoner Selina's short matter-of-fact writings. It truly brings the world of Millbank prison to life; it's hard to come away from a description of it and not feel enclosed and cold yourself. Waters has a truly exacting eye for detail; the Victorian world comes to vivid life. It's also a crash course in spiritualism; without ever belaboring points or dragging the reader through tedious academic detail, you manage to learn a good bit about mediumship and the tricks of the trade as well as about the popular perception of mediumship in the 1870s. Waters has clearly done her background work.
And yet . . . it's hard to feel any true sympathy for Margaret. She has one clear insight into the differences of class that I can think of; otherwise, she seems blind to the fact that all the women in prison are lower class and obliged to kowtow to her (though the wardens often snidely point out that there are "ladies" there, too). Her prose can turn somewhat purple at times; whether this is intended to reflect her overagitated state of mind or is simply Waters getting carried away, I do not know, but it does wear thin and bog the novel down sometimes. And, as other reviewers have noted, the "mystery" to the novel is a little bit obvious; the big reveal isn't all that much of a surprise, which is disappointing. A few of the characters run to the stereotype: the obnoxious little sister, the overbearing mother. I would have liked to have heard more about Pa, would have liked to have more about him fleshed out, especially as he is so integral to Margaret's life. It's as if most of the work in characterization went into making Selina mysterious and hard to pin down, and the other characters were made a little less rich for it.
Still, the novel is an interesting snapshot of the repressive Victorian era: repressive in its sexual mores, repressive in its family structures, repressive in its morality, repressive in its beliefs, &c. It is morbidly fascinating to watch one woman's mind degenerate and bloom in other ways as she expands the limits of what she finds acceptable. It's like watching a flower blossom while knowing all the while that it must die.
Show Less
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
Another Victorian gothic from Waters. This one certainly can't be described as a thriller, as its pace is slow and fairly lacking in drama. I kept waiting to get a hint of what she was up to, and when I thought I had, she finally revealed the twist, and then I felt a little stupid not to have
Show More
suspected something. The ultimate ending, however, did not surprise me. The narrator is Margaret Prior, a troubled young woman who has suffered a mental breakdown ending in a suicide attempt after her father's death. The rest of her family doesn't get her at all, and shows very little interest in trying to. There are hints of a romantic attachment to the woman who eventually married Margaret's brother; her sister Priscilla is totally absorbed in plans for her own wedding and honeymoon trip to Italy, while Mother is only concerned with propriety and appearances. Margaret takes up the role of "Lady Visitor" at the women's wards Millbank Prison, which is as gothic and horrid a hell-hole as you can imagine. The details of life for women convicted of everything from petty theft to murder are grimly fascinating, if you are of a mind to be fascinated by such things. Margaret naturally becomes somewhat unnaturally attached to one woman, who introduces her to the concept of spiritualism (meaning contact with the dead). This can't end well, we know, but Margaret finds her visits with Selina to be high points in her dreary life, and she begins to imagine a future...well, that's enough. If you're in the mood to drift along through a couple hundred pages of good writing where nothing much happens, to get to the "aha" moment, this is a decent read. Not up to Waters' best efforts (Tipping the Velvet or Fingersmith), but not many things are. Show Less
LibraryThing member Joycepa
Sarah Waters has written a gem of a book, a historical novel set in Victorian England in the 1870s.
Margaret Prior, in an effort to recover from a mental and emotional breakdown resulting in a suicide attempt over the death of her father, has become a Lady Visitor to the women’s ward of Millbank
Such is the context of this remarkable book. Waters spins out the story of the attraction between the two women to a totally unexpected end that blows the reader right of the water, so to speak. Structured as excerpts from both women’s diaries—Selina’s 2 years earlier than Margret’s entries—it is an excellent method for building the tension in the plot, giving nothing away until the very end. In addition, Waters has the fun of using the Victorian obsession with spiritualism as a focus of the plot.
Utterly integral to the plot as well are the conditions in women’s prisons of the time. Waters has clearly done her research; the effects on the women themselves are told through the story and are very dramatic as a result. What makes it even more horrifying to me is that in some ways, nothing has changed: there are still the sadists in today’s prisons, and those who truly wish to do well, to rehabilitate the women according to whatever moral standards prevail at the time.
Waters has a sure touch with her characters. Margaret’s fragility and vulnerability come through clearly, and Selina is an enigma. All the minor characters in the book whether Selina’s family, the matrons in the prison or the women prisoners themselves all have distinct voices. It is a remarkable tour de force that Waters can keep them all separate—and totally believable, especially Selina.
This is an outstanding read, another winner from Sarah Waters. Highly recommended.
Margaret Prior, in an effort to recover from a mental and emotional breakdown resulting in a suicide attempt over the death of her father, has become a Lady Visitor to the women’s ward of Millbank
Show More
Prison in London. It was fairly typical in those days for upper-class women to engage in “good works” of charity, and one such activity was visiting women in prison to help them “improve” themselves. One of the prisoners is Selina Dawes, a spiritualist medium, who is serving a 4 year sentence over the death of her patroness and the emotional injury to another woman during a spiritualist session. Margaret finds herself drawn to Selina, who fascinates her much like a snake does a bird. Margaret comes to believe that Selina has the power to communicate with spirits who then can carry out her wishes; bizarre events occur in Margaret’s home that she can explain no other way.Such is the context of this remarkable book. Waters spins out the story of the attraction between the two women to a totally unexpected end that blows the reader right of the water, so to speak. Structured as excerpts from both women’s diaries—Selina’s 2 years earlier than Margret’s entries—it is an excellent method for building the tension in the plot, giving nothing away until the very end. In addition, Waters has the fun of using the Victorian obsession with spiritualism as a focus of the plot.
Utterly integral to the plot as well are the conditions in women’s prisons of the time. Waters has clearly done her research; the effects on the women themselves are told through the story and are very dramatic as a result. What makes it even more horrifying to me is that in some ways, nothing has changed: there are still the sadists in today’s prisons, and those who truly wish to do well, to rehabilitate the women according to whatever moral standards prevail at the time.
Waters has a sure touch with her characters. Margaret’s fragility and vulnerability come through clearly, and Selina is an enigma. All the minor characters in the book whether Selina’s family, the matrons in the prison or the women prisoners themselves all have distinct voices. It is a remarkable tour de force that Waters can keep them all separate—and totally believable, especially Selina.
This is an outstanding read, another winner from Sarah Waters. Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sumariotter
Sarah Waters is hands down the best author I have ever read. 5 stars is really not enough for this book. Affinity is suspenseful, intelligent, erotic and totally unpredictable, like all of Sarah Waters books. I have read Affinity at least 3 times, and I'm sure I will read it again. This one, of all
Show More
of her books, comes the closest to being a horror story. Don't let that dissuade you though. This is a roller coaster of a book and the beautiful craft of Sarah Water's storytelling will pull you through it... Show Less
LibraryThing member harumph
This book took me longer to finish than Fingersmith because I wasn't quite as interested in the characters until the very end, when Waters pulled some of the same "oh-ho, nobody is who you think they are!" tricks she did in Fingersmith, at which point I liked it much better. :D
The book, aside from
Overall, I did enjoy the book, albeit not nearly as much as Fingersmith.
The book, aside from
Show More
having a central lesbian love theme (that wasn't as explicitly physical as in FS), dealt with the Spiritualist movement in the 19th century (as well as prison conditions, obviously). There is also some medicinal use of laudanum, which left me confused at the end as to whether the characters (at least Margaret) really believed in the spirits or it was an effect of the opium as several times she said she took some to make the bond between her and Selina stronger or some such. Indeed, there was a question at the end as to whether or not "Peter Quick" ever really existed, or if Selina really did believe he existed... basically, the more I think about it, the more I'm not certain I really know what happened or that I understand the characters' relationships as well as I thought I did. Which I suppose is Waters' trademark, leaving you confused and requiring a reread to better understand it. Overall, I did enjoy the book, albeit not nearly as much as Fingersmith.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SheReadsNovels
This is the story of two women, both prisoners in their own different ways and drawn together by a special bond - their 'affinity'.
Margaret Prior is a single woman of twenty nine who, following the death of her father, begins visiting London's Millbank Prison as a Lady Visitor. Lady Visitors were
The book is told in the form of diary entries - Margaret's longer sections being interspersed with Selina's shorter ones. Margaret's diary entries are very bleak and miserable, as she is trying to cope not only with the loss of her father, but also with her feelings for both Selina and her sister-in-law Helen, the expectations of her domineering mother, and the sense of being 'left behind' that she experiences when her younger sister gets married and leaves home. Selina's sections of the story are very vague and confusing and I didn't fully understand them until I went back and read them again after reaching the end of the book.
I enjoyed learning about life in a Victorian prison, as it's not something I've read about in so much detail before. Waters does a wonderful job of conveying the oppressive atmosphere of Millbank, with its labyrinthine corridors and gloomy wards.
I haven't read all of Sarah Waters' books yet so I can't really say where Affinity stands in comparison to her others, but I thought it was an excellent book - dark, suspenseful, moving and with some passages that were genuinely spooky.
Margaret Prior is a single woman of twenty nine who, following the death of her father, begins visiting London's Millbank Prison as a Lady Visitor. Lady Visitors were
Show More
women who voluntarily visited prisoners with the aim of befriending them and giving them comfort during the time of their imprisonment. However, Margaret is in need of some friendship and comfort herself. From her very first visit, she finds herself strangely drawn to Selina Dawes, a young spiritualist imprisoned for assault after one of her spiritualism sessions goes badly wrong, leaving a woman dead and a girl traumatised. Selina blames her 'control spirit', Peter Quick, for what happened, but is she telling the truth? Throughout the story, the reader is made to wonder whether Selina really has the powers she claims to have or if Margaret is the victim of an elaborate hoax.The book is told in the form of diary entries - Margaret's longer sections being interspersed with Selina's shorter ones. Margaret's diary entries are very bleak and miserable, as she is trying to cope not only with the loss of her father, but also with her feelings for both Selina and her sister-in-law Helen, the expectations of her domineering mother, and the sense of being 'left behind' that she experiences when her younger sister gets married and leaves home. Selina's sections of the story are very vague and confusing and I didn't fully understand them until I went back and read them again after reaching the end of the book.
I enjoyed learning about life in a Victorian prison, as it's not something I've read about in so much detail before. Waters does a wonderful job of conveying the oppressive atmosphere of Millbank, with its labyrinthine corridors and gloomy wards.
I haven't read all of Sarah Waters' books yet so I can't really say where Affinity stands in comparison to her others, but I thought it was an excellent book - dark, suspenseful, moving and with some passages that were genuinely spooky.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
It’s 1874 and Margaret Prior is a spinster at only 29. She’s trapped in an oppressive life with her mother and sees no escape. She’s grieving the loss of her father and the end of a recent romance. She decides to begin visiting Millbank Prison as a “Lady Friend” giving comfort to the
This one started out pretty slow for me. Fingersmith and The Little Stranger were both more enthralling at the start, but I hung in there and the pay off was worth it. The beauty of Waters’ writing is the way it sneaks up on you and completely envelops you. Just when you think you have a pretty good idea how things are going to unfold, you get blindsided, but in a good way! I actually thought I knew exactly how it was going to end and I was a bit disappointed with what I thought was coming. Luckily for me I was completely wrong.
Calling this a mystery or ghost story would be ignoring the depth of the book. It is a gothic tale, but it also covers so many different topics: the vast divides in the Victorian class system, depression, sexuality, the nineteenth century obsession with spiritualism and so much more! While crafting this story, Waters lulls you into a false sense of security. You focus on the obvious things, the horrific scenes from the jail, Margaret’s struggle with her feelings for others, all of which are fascinating. But the whole time you’re looking right, a complex tale is being built off to your left and result is intense.
BOTTOM LINE: Waters has an incredible gift for crafting stories. Even if the story starts out slow, the end makes it all worthwhile. If you’re a fan of gothic stories this one is a safe bet.
Show More
female prisons there. She forms a particular attachment with the prisoner Selina Dawes, a spiritualist jailed when she hosts a séance that ends badly. This one started out pretty slow for me. Fingersmith and The Little Stranger were both more enthralling at the start, but I hung in there and the pay off was worth it. The beauty of Waters’ writing is the way it sneaks up on you and completely envelops you. Just when you think you have a pretty good idea how things are going to unfold, you get blindsided, but in a good way! I actually thought I knew exactly how it was going to end and I was a bit disappointed with what I thought was coming. Luckily for me I was completely wrong.
Calling this a mystery or ghost story would be ignoring the depth of the book. It is a gothic tale, but it also covers so many different topics: the vast divides in the Victorian class system, depression, sexuality, the nineteenth century obsession with spiritualism and so much more! While crafting this story, Waters lulls you into a false sense of security. You focus on the obvious things, the horrific scenes from the jail, Margaret’s struggle with her feelings for others, all of which are fascinating. But the whole time you’re looking right, a complex tale is being built off to your left and result is intense.
BOTTOM LINE: Waters has an incredible gift for crafting stories. Even if the story starts out slow, the end makes it all worthwhile. If you’re a fan of gothic stories this one is a safe bet.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ehough75
There is no lying that Sarah Waters is an amazing writer. However the story line of this novel was so slow. You never felt like you were going anywhere and when you did get to the point is was disappointing. The authors ability to place in the locations of her novels is nothing but amazing but with
Show More
a terriable story line to back it up this was a real disappointment. Show Less
LibraryThing member nakedsushi
The story in Affinity is told through two girls' diaries, which makes it confusing to read at first. Once I got used to it, I could see how well this mechanism served to deliver the plot.
The first half of the book I felt went a bit slow. There's a lot of set-up and description contained in the
Although I figured out the ending halfway through the book, I kept reading in hopes that it wasn't what I thought it was. The story is still suspenseful even if you've figured out what was going on.
This was recommended to me by someone who always spoils endings for me, but I'm glad that he did not spoil this one.
The first half of the book I felt went a bit slow. There's a lot of set-up and description contained in the
Show More
first couple of chapters that made me a bit bored. But as soon as I got to the main meat of the story, I couldn't stop reading.Although I figured out the ending halfway through the book, I kept reading in hopes that it wasn't what I thought it was. The story is still suspenseful even if you've figured out what was going on.
This was recommended to me by someone who always spoils endings for me, but I'm glad that he did not spoil this one.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Narcissa
The first Sarah Waters book I read. I cried, it's such a sad story, and the writing is excellent.
LibraryThing member mckait
As always, I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters are sometimes dark, but always exquisite, as are all of Waters characters. I can never put down a Waters book, until I reach the end. I always read them more than once. If endings are important to you, this one is for you.
LibraryThing member priamel
The beginning was interesting, but I've just given up at page 227...
LibraryThing member TomSlee
Not bad, the plot moves along and all that and her characters are fine, but not up to Night Watch or, even better, Fingersmith.
LibraryThing member allison.sivak
I really enjoyed this novel, for its detail of the lives of women and women in prison during the late 1800s, as well as for its unexpected plot twists. Margaret Prior, an unmarried 30-year old upper class woman, is recommended to perform the "charity work" of visiting women prisoners at Millbank
Show More
Prison after her suicide attempt. She becomes drawn to prisoner Selina Dawes, who has been convicted of causing the death of her benefactress during a spiritualist session. As Margaret becomes more and more obsessed with Selina, Waters shows how isolation and connection are experienced by the two characters in very different ways. Having just started working with a women's prison project, I was struck by how prison rules haven't changed over the last century. A riveting, fun, and fast-paced read, with much interesting historical detail. Show Less
LibraryThing member LadyN
Waters didn't let herself down with this one. Having very much enjoyed Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet, this one easily lived up to them. The atmosphere was excecllently crafted, as were the charaters. I'd definitely recommend to fans of period drama.
Subjects
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Nominee — 2000)
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — 2001)
Stonewall Book Award (Winner — Literature — 2001)
Somerset Maugham Award (2000)
The Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (Science Fiction and Fantasy)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
351 p.; 5.1 inches
ISBN
1573228737 / 9781573228732
Local notes
fiction