2.5 rounded up

Nearly a DNF, I was relieved when done with this latest offering from Smith. Even the fantastic character of Eliza, whose cutting wit was a joy to read, wasn't enough to keep this reader engaged. The three separate story lines barely seem connected with any depth, and overall the plot moves at such a slow pace that it reads rather dull. Definitely not one that I raced to pick back up.

The Fraud focuses on aspects of Victorian England as told through the perspective of Eliza Touchet. Eliza is cousin and housekeeper to author William Ainsworth and has lived with him for decades. Through her eyes, we see the writers of the day as well as the social landscape of England. When the Tichborne Trial takes over the headlines, Eliza attends in order to determine whether the Sir Roger Tichborne is really the true heir. In doing so she seeks out witness Andrew Bogle and listens to his story and how he ended up as part of the trial. Overall, a look at how people perceive themselves and their freedoms, The book was broken up into eight volumes, often with very short chapters that sometimes made it difficult to keep track of which character and timeline was being discussed, though the prose was well-written. The different characters all touched on class and how some groups focused solely on their own issues, not always considering those of others, and some groups were at the mercy of others, regardless of their actions.

3.5 stars rounded up.

There is much to tuck into and enjoy in Zadie Smith’s first historical novel, an expansive view of the first half of Queen Victoria’s reign through the eyes of the widowed Eliza Touchet. It’s cleverly written and structured, though it didn't particularly grip me.

Using real people, and real events, the novel moves from the literary circles of the mid-19th century in which the likes of Dickens and Cruikshank mingle with Eliza’s cousin, William Ainsworth (now completely out of print but popular at the time) to the 1870’s trials of the Claimant, in which a man claiming to be Sir Roger Tichborne tries to prove his bona fides.

Along the way, the author shows us society from the viewpoint of the powerless: women, black people, and the working class. She references Samuel Johnson’s dog - that a woman preaching is like a dog walking on its hind legs, not that it’s done well but that it’s surprising it’s done at all - to give us the Victorian perspective on these groups. She also makes it clear how siloed the powerless are in their views of the power structure and what would improve it.

The timeline gets a little confusing as we swing from the height of Ainsworth’s literary acclaim to his final years where he’s financially exiled to Sussex. The novel is structured into eight volumes with a multiplicity of short chapters, much like one of Dickens’s novels might have been published and there are a variety of styles. There are gouts of the Claimant's trial and a lengthy diversion into the story of Andrew Bogle, the Claimant’s man servant, as well as excerpts from Ainsworth’s own novels.

It’s not clear who is intended to be the fraud of the title. Ostensibly it is the Claimant, the darling of the masses who appreciate that he’s trying to stick it to the toffs even as he tries to prove he is one himself. It’s a little reminiscent of billionaire Trump becoming a champion of the working classes. Ainsworth also worries that he is an unwitting fraud, that his literary peers are laughing at him even as they enjoy his extravagant hospitality. Eliza herself, superficially a righteous and uptight Catholic widow is not above being like the “Ladies of Llangollen” (two scandalous upper class women who lived as a couple) or even indulging in a little sadomasochism with her married cousin.

Recently I read and 5-starred William Boyd’s The Romantic, which follows a white man’s spacious adventures in the Victorian era. The Fraud takes on something more challenging with a smaller canvas and a modern viewpoint and, while it wasn't as successful for me, I appreciate that the author is pushing the boundaries of historical fiction with a much more contemporary perspective.

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

It always big news when Zadie Smith has a new book out. This one is very different from her other books. This book will be nor be for everyone. It's 464 pages and at times it gets to be frustrating in a sense that you start to lose track of who is who. There are three storylines which could actually be a stand alone novel. The problem for me was I wanted them to gel together and feel like there was a purpse to the style of the storytelling. The stories were intersting to read but not enjoyable as a whole. The good news is the writing is always beautiful so that makes it worth the read but really just for Zadie Smith fans. I would not make this your firrst novel of hers to read. Thank you to #netgalley and #penguinbooks for the read. Truly wanted to love it more.

I wanted to fall into this book, but I don't think this Smith is for me. The prose is good and there is a good story in here, but the pace for me was ponderous without making me feel anything for the characters and where it was they were headed. I found myself wanting to speed up the pacing so I could get to the meat of the matter. Alas, this slowly moving plot was to be my fate.

3.5 I enjoyed this. While not my favorite Zadie Smith, I absolutely buy in to what she is doing here. Extraordinarily thoughtful and well-written, a small moment in history is writ large to make comment on the present. I found the comparisons to Hilary Mantel not inappropriate though the scale here feels a little smaller. Interesting and readable and often hilarious.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is based upon a notorious English fraud case and a prolific writer who lived during the same time period.

A little slow in parts and the constantly shifting timeline was sometimes hard to keep track of but overall I loved this. Mrs. Touchet was an incredible character and there was lots of humor and humanity that struck me. Highly recommend!

This may be my favorite book of Smith's to date. The historical fiction aspect is fresh and new for me as a fan of hers and I was absorbed in this story throughout. This book is complex and entertaining at the same time and that is no easy task to complete. Smith succeeds at making us care about these issues through the beautiful way they are told in her words. I loved this!

Zadie Smith's new book is a delight. It is such an intelligent, well-researched, and funny take on historical fiction and the Dickensian novel with Smith's signature deft touch in dealing with themes of gender, race, and class.

The trial of an obvious liar that somehow still divides the public--Zadie Smith uses this historical case to set up parallels with our divided world today. But beyond this framing device, she also explores questions of femininity, race, and class. Fascinating story and characters, beautifully written; this might be Smith's best book yet.

DNF.... I never wanted to love a book so bad. I couldn't follow the flow of the story. However, that shouldn't deter you from reading this.

I was not in the right mindset for this book so I do not think I was able to appreciate it. Based on the life of 19th century British author William H. Ainsworth - whose works are no longer in print - Smith clearly did a lot of research. The book read like a 19th century British piece of work and I was not prepared to read a book like that. There were a lot of characters and jumps back and forth over the years. I am sure people with a more scholarly literary background can take meaning from this book but I did not.

This is a must read for fans of historical fiction set in Victorian England. I was somewhat familiar with the TIchborne case, but weaving his story with that of Andrew Bogle was a fascinating exploration of how class influences who is allowed to tell their story.. Once again, Smith's gift for bringing characters to life shines.

This is a mostly enjoyable novel that centers around a now unknown 19th Century British Author and the Tichbourne Case, also now unknown to most of us. While I appreciated the three strands of the story and the examination of truth and what it means for each individual, I found the structure of the novel distracting. As a reader, I felt like there was a better more cohesive way to tell the story that would flow better. For the most part, the short chapters move between time periods and characters. This works really well for the first half of the novel, About midway through, this is abandoned for a long section that focuses on one character and their timeline. It then returns to the previous structure for the remainder of the novel. I understand (partially) the reasons for this change but I found it distracting and that this portion of the narrative would better fit with the whole if it was told in a similar manner to the rest of the book. Overall, it is a fascinating story but I am not sure I can say it is one of my favorite of Zadie Smith's works.

Oh I usually love Zadie Smith and while I respect her for this work, it just wasn't my cup of tea. The cast of characters and central narrative was great, but there's only so much 19th century comings and goings that I was in the mood for. I wish we had spent a little more time with the non-white characters.

The title of Zadie Smith’s latest novel, The Fraud, is our first prompt to question the distance between our inner self and the self (or selves) we present to others. The parade of characters we meet brings even more questions about who we really are. These pages contain the confused, the dissatisfied, the brash, the claimants, the deluded, and more. It’s a dizzying array of psychology that refuses to provide solid answers to any of the questions it raises. I’m not complaining! A healthy dose of self-reflection is good for the soul.

Our narrator through all of this is Eliza Touchet, a woman who has had to present more than a few facades in her life. The Fraud drifts back and forth through Eliza’s life. The earliest parts of the novel, set in the 1830s, show us a young widow grieving the loss of her son and worried over what might be “unnatural” sexual preferences. Later, after inheriting enough to live independently, Eliza becomes entangled with her cousin, author William Ainsworth Harrison. By the 1870s, Eliza is William’s housekeeper and secret manager of his ego. For lack of anything to really occupy her mind, she becomes fascinated by the case of Arthur Orton, the Tichborne Claimant, and the former slave of Roger Tichborne, Andrew Bogle.

Eliza is an observer. (Much like Charles Dickens, who makes an extended cameo in The Fraud.) From her position as housekeeper and cousin—not quite family and not quite servant—Eliza moves from back of house to front of house multiple times during the course of the day. She can see just how bad William’s writing is. And Eliza can see how much William’s friends take advantage of him (mostly for his port) while also noting how much William needs their praise. As William grows older, Eliza spends more of her time shielding him from verbal and literary criticism. For all the time she spends observing these fraudsters and pretenders, Eliza is shocked by genuineness, as well as Andrew Bogle or the second Mrs. Harrison tell her about the hardship of their early lives (as an enslaved man and an impoverished child, respectively). I think it surprises Eliza to find out that, even though she thinks of herself as the one who knows everything, she’s been quite sheltered for most of her life.

In some ways, The Fraud echoes the writing of Charles Dickens. There are chapters that delve into the terrible conditions some people are forced to live in. There are characters who threaten to tip over into caricature. Some characters are unexpectedly loveable while others make your skin crawl a bit. And (my favorite) there are hilariously pithy flashes of wit or observation that had me snorting with laughter. Don’t be alarmed by the similarities to Dickens, if you’re not a fan; Smith is not nearly as longwinded or as melodramatic as Dickens.

This is the first book by Zadie Smith that I’ve ever read. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I’m a bit annoyed with myself for never getting around to reading any of Smith’s other, highly-praised novels. This book is a masterful work of historical fiction.

The Fraud while historically deemed notable is packed with British as well as Jamaican family characters and histories that I found difficult to follow and yet maintain a satisfying storyline. I loved the short chapters but the text was mind-boggling to me.

Zadie Smith can do no wrong. She proves it yet again with The Fraud. I was very curious about how she would work with historical fiction and it was amazing. I enjoyed every single word and it was such an interesting book. I cannot wait for everyone to read this beautiful book.

I enjoyed all of the different points of view, each describing in their own way the same events, wondering who won out in the end- probably the slow moving establishment, but I was rooting for Henry…