The Paying Guests

· Sold by Penguin
3.6
68 reviews
Ebook
576
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

The New York Times bestselling novel that has been called “a tour de force” (Wall Street Journal), “unputdownable” (The Washington Post), “a delicious hothouse of a novel” (USA Today), “effortless” (The Economist), “seductive” (Vanity Fair) and “pitch perfect” (Salon)
 
“Superb, bewitching…Forget about Fifty Shades of Grey; this novel is one of the most sensual you will ever read, and all without sacrificing either good taste or a "G" rating” – NPR
 
“One of the year’s most engrossing and suspenseful novels…a love affair, a shocking murder, and a flawless ending … Will keep you sleepless for three nights straight and leave you grasping for another book that can sustain that high.” — Entertainment Weekly (A rating)

Volcanically sexy, sizzingly smart, plenty bloody and just plain irresistible." —USA Today (4 stars)


It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa—a large, silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and even servants—life is about to be transformed as impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers.

With the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the “clerk class,” the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. Little do the Wrays know just how profoundly their new tenants will alter the course of Frances’s life—or, as passions mount and frustration gathers, how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be.

Short-listed for the Man Booker Prize three times, Sarah Waters has earned a reputation as one of our greatest writers of historical fiction, and here she has delivered again. A love story, a tension-filled crime story, and a beautifully atmospheric portrait of a fascinating time and place, The Paying Guests is Sarah Waters’s finest achievement yet.

Ratings and reviews

3.6
68 reviews
A Google user
December 8, 2014
Some of the most raw, earnest and intimate writing I've read in years. Not to be missed. Ms Waters's writing and fascinating female characters make one think of Virginia Woolf's writing, but the voice and the brilliance are entirely Ms Waters's own. An absolute thrill -- just read it on a weekend because I doubt you will be able to put it down. (Julie Stevenson's audiobook version, available separately, does justice to the text as well, highly recommended)
Did you find this helpful?
Shimi Rahim
May 8, 2017
Riveting and unexpected. A tale of forbidden love, bravery, women's struggles in a man's world, injustice, poignantly set in post-war Britain after the world turned upside down. Full of breathtaking moments and delights and sorrows and tragedy. Couldn't put it down - had to read through to the end.
2 people found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?
Richard Burgh
January 10, 2015
It was beautifully written, deeply textured with three dimensional characters I cared about. At times, it was so painful I felt like putting it down. I'm glad I didn't. It spoke truth to me with a very satisfying ending.
2 people found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

Sarah Waters is the New York Times–bestselling author of The Little Stranger, The Night Watch, Fingersmith, Affinity, and Tipping the Velvet. She has three times been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, twice been a finalist for the Orange Prize, and was named one of Granta’s best young British novelists, among other distinctions. Waters lives in London.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.