Sarah Waters
A Welsh author renowned for her historical fiction, often featuring lesbian protagonists and exploring themes of sexuality, class, and Victorian society. Her meticulously researched novels, such as Tipping the Velvet and The Little Stranger, blend suspense, romance, and social commentary with rich period detail and compelling characters. Waters's evocative storytelling and exploration of marginalized voices have garnered her critical acclaim and a wide readership.
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller. This is the story of four Londoners - three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy. Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching... Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret... Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover... Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances. Tender, tragic and beautifully poignant.
Set in post-World War II Britain, 'The Little Stranger' by Sarah Waters is a gripping Gothic novel that intertwines elements of mystery, psychological suspense, and social commentary. The story follows Dr. Faraday, a country physician who becomes entwined with the Ayres family living in the decaying Hundreds Hall. As strange occurrences plague the once-grand estate, tensions rise, leading to a chilling climax that blurs the lines between reality and the supernatural. Waters expertly crafts a haunting atmosphere while delving into themes of class, trauma, and the decline of the British aristocracy. 'The Little Stranger' is a thought-provoking and atmospheric tale that will keep readers eagerly turning the pages.