The Confessions of Frannie Langton: As Seen on ITVX
Paperback Published on: 01/08/2019
Price: £9.99
Bookseller Reviews
View all
A great debut....
London is scandalised with the trial of Franny Langton who is accused of murdering her master and mistress.
The story of Frannie told through flashbacks i... READ MORE
A new voice...
'The Confessions of Frannie Langton' starts with a simple who-dunnit premise; Mr and Mrs Benham are dead and their black housemaid, Frannie, is accused of ... READ MORE
Is she guilty?
A well written story of the life and times of Frannie Langton who is on trial for the murder of her master and mistress but did she do it? An enjoyable re... READ MORE
A historical mystery that speaks to today
I loved this book from beginning to end. Sara Collins’ debut novel promises confessions, modelling itself on gothic novels, and yet it subverts every expec... READ MORE
A historical novel with real modern resonance
The book begins with Frannie on trial for the murder of the wealthy couple she worked for. She is the talk of the day not only for her crime but for the fu... READ MORE
An addictive read
This book kept me reading... Sara Collins is very good at spinning out a plot, even though it is one you're sure you've read before somewhere. She dances b... READ MORE
If this is the only book you read this year....
The confessions of Frannie Langton is my stand out read so far this year. Sara Collins is one talent you MUST keep your eyes on! I had the privilege of bei... READ MORE
Wonderfully written with a unique lead character
Sadly I wanted to like this more than I did. I had really high expectations as there are a lot of elements in this book that I adore in my reads – Victoria... READ MORE
Evocative, Gothic and sumptuous
This was a really sumptuous exploration of the life and love of a former slave living in England in the 1820s. When we meet Frannie, she is in Newgate pris... READ MORE
Excellent historical mystery
Surely one of the best debuts of 2019, a very well constructed novel which is extremely addictive reading. The heroine is not meek and mild and not always ... READ MORE
Gloriously gothic with an unsettling edge
A darkly gothic murder mystery, set in London during the slave trade. Frannie, a former slave, servant and prostitute is accused of murdering Mr and Mrs Be... READ MORE
Thrilling Historical Fiction
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins is a feverish, desperately thrilling story set in London in 1826.
Frannie Langton, maid to Mr and Mrs ... READ MORE
Synopsis
Shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2020
Winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2019
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Debut Book of the Year 2020
Our Fiction Book of the Month for August 2019
'They say I must be put to death for what happened to Madame, and they want me to confess. But how can I confess what I don't believe I've done?'
1826, and all of London is in a frenzy. Crowds gather at the gates of the Old Bailey to watch as Frannie Langton, maid to Mr and Mrs Benham, goes on trial for their murder. The testimonies against her are damning - slave, whore, seductress. And they may be the truth. But they are not the whole truth.
For the first time Frannie must tell her story. It begins with a girl learning to read on a plantation in Jamaica, and it ends in a grand house in London, where a beautiful woman waits to be freed.
But through her fevered confessions, one burning question haunts Frannie Langton: could she have murdered the only person she ever loved?
A beautiful and haunting tale about one woman's fight to tell her story, The Confessions of Frannie Langton leads you through laudanum-laced dressing rooms and dark-as-night back alleys, into the enthralling heart of Georgian London.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
- ISBN: 9780241984017
- Number of pages: 384
- Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 23 mm
- Weight: 266g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allDid she really do it?
Frannie is on trial, the only problem is, she does not remember doing what she is accused of. How is this possible? We desperately want a happy outcome and... READ MORE
A dark tale of race and deceit.
Frannie Langton is accused of murder. The issue is she can not remember doing it. How can she confess to something she has not done?
As the clock is ticki... READ MORE
A deeply disturbing and moving read.
This was certainly both a gripping and deeply disturbing read and by the final deeply moving pages I was hoping against all hope that the central character... READ MORE
As rich , vivid detailed as the embroidery on its cover illustration.
A servant who was a slave in Jamaica is accused of the brutal murder of her employer and his wife.. The character of Frannie Langton leaps from the page i... READ MORE
Historical fiction at it's best
The Confessions of France Langton is a compelling and interesting historical novel set in the early nineteenth century. The book opens with Frannie in the ... READ MORE
Lives up to Pre-publication expectations
Set in Jamaica and London in the first quarter of the nineteenth century we follow Frannie through her first-person confession from a slave in a sugar plan... READ MORE
A good debut
In 19th century London ,Frannie Langdon is tried for murder of Mr and Mrs Benham., Frannie was born as a slave, given as a maid to their household., prejud... READ MORE
Didn't keep me interested
I had high hopes for this book especially as one of the assistants in my local Waterstones recommended this book, however I was really disappointed. I have... READ MORE
Beautifully written... would've liked a slightly different ending...
I always one for a bit of historical fiction, with a feisty female protagonist and laced with romance and mystery. Frannie was a fascinating from the start... READ MORE
Are you sitting Uncomfortably?
This review was rewritten many times, I just couldn’t nail it, then I realised what was stopping me, it was that this powerful examination of slavery, both... READ MORE
Histfic set in Jamaica and London
Sara Collins is a great fresh voice in historical fiction. Through the eyes of a maid from Jamaica accused of killing the couple she works for. The opening... READ MORE
A great original tale
I won’t go on about the actual story of this tale as many previous reviews have already covered it, but what I would say is this is a really original and i... READ MORE
Intriguing and dramatic
Found this read very slow until probably halfway through when it started to pick up.
Think the author is an extremely strong writer, with powerful characte... READ MORE
A strong and compelling debut from an original new voice
Right from the start of this novel, you know you are in for something quite different. This is Frannie Langton’s autobiography, written while awaiting tria... READ MORE
Powerful social history/murder
#TheConfessionsOfFrannieLangton
This book explores so many themes, that at times it is hard to follow them all and the central story was quite confusing. ... READ MORE
Collins brings new meaning to the downtrodden, classic heroine.
Sara Collins gave me this novel at a publicity event in my store back in January, which she pitched to me by saying: ‘Think Jane Eyre, but black and lesbia... READ MORE
Powerful work of historical Gothic fiction
My thanks to Penguin Books/Viking for an eARC via NetGalley of Sara Collins’ debut, ‘The Confessions of Frannie Langton’ in exchange for an honest review.
... READ MORE
An Interesting Read
This book of the month gripped me from the Description...
I really enjoyed Frannie's story from the start and was hooked from the beginning, her life was f... READ MORE
An absolute must read
I’ve just finished reading my ARC kindle copy and I can’t praise it enough. Haunting, passionate and utterly vivid. I had to stop every so often to catch m... READ MORE
An immersive reading experience
Frannie is growing up in a time when the slave trade was abolished but nothing had changed. She has a core of steel but no matter where she is, whether on ... READ MORE
Enjoyable
I was sent an uncorrected advance proof copy of The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins to read and review by NetGalley.
This novel is set in 18... READ MORE
Something for Everyone
A very good book, one I had to think on for a while after finishing. It's not just the life of a slave turned maid brought from Jamaica and given away, it'... READ MORE
Enthralling and Somewhat Gothic Historical Mystery
London, circa 1820, and servant Frannie Langton is on trial accused of murdering her Master and Mistress. The problem is that she can’t remember anything a... READ MORE
A fascinating historical debut
What a debut! A fascinating tale of Frances Langton, a mulatta, born in Jamaica and then taken to England by her 'owner' and left with a family and finally... READ MORE
Historical fiction which takes readers from Jamaica to London
Sara Collins is a great fresh voice in historical fiction. Through the eyes of a maid from Jamaica accused of killing the couple she works for. The opening... READ MORE
Not what I hoped
I'm sat here trying to find the correct words for this review. It wasn't a terrible read, nor was it a fantastic read. It was more... disappointing than an... READ MORE
A little more prepared to be challenged
This review was rewritten many times, I just couldn’t nail it, that is until I realised what was stopping me, it was that this powerful examination of slav... READ MORE
Shining a light on Victorian London
on trial for murdering her mistress (not a spoiler, you find this out in the first few pages), the eponymous Frannie Langton recounts her life history from... READ MORE
A hard read
From beginning to end this is a hard read with its' unfairness and cruelty to Frannie. Viewed from the present time it seems overbearingly cruel and at fi... READ MORE
Haunting historic fiction!
Even though this book tells a very harrowing tale, it is written in a very evocative style, with a dark lyricism that won me over from the beginning.
It i... READ MORE
Compelling, original and historically evocative
This book is beautifully and authentically written set within fascinating historically-detailed backdrops of a Jamaican plantation, the unforgiving and unr... READ MORE
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