After losing both brothers in WWI and her father shortly thereafter, Frances Wray can no longer support herself or her mother, and both are at risk of losing their majestic home in a wealthy suburb of London. Forced to take in borders to help pay the bills, Lillian and Leonard Barber, a boisterous young couple from the lower clerical caste, move into the upstairs rooms and quickly alter the staid, reserved atmosphere in the house. Initially, Leonard appears charming and vibrant, even if there is something about him that Frances does not trust. She does, however, find Lillian's bohemianism to be a welcome change. Everything moves along smoothly for a time, but then incidents begin to happen that make Frances question whether the Barbers' marriage is truly a happy one. Embroiled in the Barbers' affairs, Frances can sense tragedy is coming but has no idea how unprepared she is for the consequences nor the things she will agree to for love...
1922 was a tumultuous time. Unemployment was high after WWI, and gender and class inequalities were dramatically shifting causing uneasiness throughout London. Waters uses this edgy backdrop to mirror and escalate the instability inside the Wrays' home. Fans of historical fiction, postwar fiction, romance, and crime novels will find much to like. If you enjoyed
The Paying Guests, check out more of
Sarah Water's works and my personal favorite,
The Night Watch.
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