Author: michelfaber

A “rich and memorable” national bestseller (The New Yorker) with nearly 5,000 five-star ratings on Goodreads: When deeply religious Peter is sent on an intergalactic expedition, his wife is left to reckon with Earth’s seemingly imminent collapse. “Luminescent” (David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas).

At the heart of this panoramic, multidimensional narrative is the compelling struggle of a young woman to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. Faber leads us back to 1870s London, where Sugar, a nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, yearns for escape to a better life. Her ascent through the strata of Victorian society offers us intimacy with a host of … lovable, maddening, unforgettable characters. They begin with William Rackham, an egotistical perfume magnate whose ambition is fueled by his lust for Sugar, and whose patronage brings her into proximity to his…