Fingersmith



The third novel by British author Sarah Waters, Fingersmith tells the story of Victorian thief Sue Trinder, who agrees to help con sheltered heiress Maud Lilly out of her inheritance, but The Plan begins to go awry when she finds herself falling in love with the innocent and beautiful Maud.

The book was later turned into a popular BBC miniseries.

Fingersmith contains examples of:

 * Ambiguously Gay: Gentleman. He's a well-dressed dandy who can effortlessly charm the ladies, but has no actual sexual interest in them. It's left rather unclear in the book, though, whether he's actually a Depraved Homosexual (Word of God confirmed that he is indeed gay).
 * Anti-Villain:  is remarkably sympathetic for someone who  . It helps that she seems to feel regretful almost immediately, and that
 * Becoming the Mask: Both Maude and Sue.
 * Bedlam House: ends up here.
 * Broken Bird: Maud... oh so much. Sue as well
 * Broken Pedestal: Both Sue and Maud have this done to them numerous times.
 * Depraved Homosexual: Gentleman fits this trope surprisingly well for being written by a putatively gay-friendly author.
 * Double Entendre: The title.
 * Evil Plan: It all starts with conmen trying to swindle an heiress....
 * Gambit Pileup: What starts as an Evil Plan on the part of Gentleman and Sue turns out to be part of plan. Which, in the end, was all orchestrated by, unbeknownst to anyone.
 * Gene Hunting: Inverted and deconstructed.
 * Genre Savvy: 's read enough lesbian erotica to know how to.
 * Girls Love: Sue and Maud. Yes, they go all the way.
 * Go Among Mad People
 * Manipulative Bastard: . Also, Gentleman, who understands other people very well and uses the insights against them.
 * Ominous Fog
 * Smug Snake: Gentleman.
 * Victorian London
 * Unwitting Pawn: Subverted with Maude and Sue.
 * Unwitting Pawn: Subverted with Maude and Sue.