A beautifully written book with vivid descriptions of places, people and thoughts. This book would make an excellent film as the writing is so visual and dramatic. Collins makes Frannie so convincing and her descriptions of the life and ordeals endured on the Jamaican plantations compelling reading. As we are taken back and forward from Jamaica to London in Frannie’s recollections we can see, hear and smell everything through Frannie. The writing is moving and Collins’s research and empathy is evident throughout.
The journey through Frannie’s life was compelling and sad. She had humour, intelligence and a lot of sorrow. An excellent read.

The pace is slow, the characters complex and well-rounded, the story thought-provoking and the prose is enthralling. All in all, an excellent novel, one that will stay with the reader long after s/he turns the last page.

This is the life story of the mulatto Frances Langton, growing up in Jamaica with her cruel “owner” and his wife, and put to paper by herself whilst she is awaiting hanging for an alleged double murder in England.
It is one of those books that wraps you up and reels you in and won’t allow you to put it down. A very confident and brutally honest style, you follow Frances through a desolate childhood full of wide-eyed fear. A world where a person can be sold or given as a gift, a terrifying, unspeakable world masquerading as scientific exploration. Only detraction for me was the overuse of similes.

I am pretty sure “The confessions of Frannie Langton” will become a book club favorite and a word by mouth recommendation once published. Sara Collins worked as a lawyer before turning her true passion, writing, into a career. Her lawyerly skills definitely flow into “The confession of Frannie Langton” which reminded me at times of “Washington Black” by Esi Edigyan . Here too a slave’s life is shaped by their master’s decision to be allowed an education and involved in scientific experiments. Although "The Confession of Frannie Langton" is written in a very different style, historical fiction mixed with a gripping murder mystery, the plight of people of color in the 19th century, male or female, is acutely portrayed. Written as a confession at the end of her trial at the Old Bailey after being accused of having murdered her Mistress and Master, Frannie peels away layer by layer of her life story until she arrives at the truth.

This is a powerful tale of a Jamaican slave, Frannie Langton, who arrives in London with her owner Langton after he had been expelled by his wife who is the owner of the sugar cane plantation “Paradise”. It is here where Frannie was brought up, allowed to read and write and help Langton with cruel and crazy experiments. She believes to be his confidant but he trades her in at the Belham estate where she learns that her whole life to this point has been an experiment these two men had dreamed up. Her life receives another twist when Madame, Marguerite Belham, an eccentric with a graving for laudanum and feminist ideas, falls for Frannie’s exotic looks and her free spirit seducing her into a lesbian relationship, the only love Frannie will ever experience.

I personally found the middle section of the novel too long and less captivating but the first third and the last third are brilliantly written, totally engrossing with a heartbreaking ending making it a fascinating read.

Excellent book with a great storyline. Characters that are so well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

I usually love Gothic novels but this one just doesn't live up to its promise. The main character is interesting but a bit flat. I've just read a The Corset which is amazing and I loved Affinity. This just isn't quite good enough. The twists are really obvious and not very clever. Readable but not memorable.

I enjoyed the style of this book and how Frannie changed depending on the situation she was in. Parts were predictable but overall I enjoyed it!

A historical who-dunnit with a bit of slavery and whoring thrown in - so a bit of something for everyone!

Frannie is a maid, a slave, a whore, a ladies' companion, an addict - her role depends on her current master or mistress. Her confession is written as she awaits her trial for murder. But what is she confessing to? The stories from her past makes one's stomach turn much more than the crimes for which she has been accused.

A great tale although I did feel it could have benefited from a bit of judicious editing. It did seem to go on and on, and even I, not the most observant of readers, worked out Frannie's parentage in the early stages of the book so I could not share Frannie's shock at the late reveal.

The Confessions of Frannie Langton is a well written and engaging book. It tells a tough story of slave life in Jamaica, and then in London. Some parts could be a bit much for more squeamish or sensitive readers. But such things happened and are well documented (I studied them during my History degree) and are not overly described by Sara Collins, just there. I won't mention any spoilers but I shall probably buy the book when it is published as I would like to see the author's comments and reading list if she's included it. I didn't really like or warm to any of the characters in the book but that did not stop me enjoying the journey. I would imagine this appealing to readers who enjoyed The Kitchen House and similar black slave stories.