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I’m not fond of Dickens. (I tried again recently and couldn’t get more than 20 pages into Tale of Two Cities.). I’m not typically fond of long books. (I attribute this to the too-many-books-too-little-time issue.)

That said, I was blown away by this 600 page “Dickensian�� book. I’ve had the good fortune to read several excellent books this year, but this one was in a class by itself for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this captivated by a book of fiction.

The setting is definitely Dickensian - England in 1862, partly in a rough district of London, and partly in an aging country manor. The story involves an orphan, and a fortune. And a scheme to separate one from the other.

Those similarities aside, Dickens would not have created a story where 3 of the 4 main characters are strong women, and with the exception of a few walk-on parts, the men are pretty much unrelievedly venal or weak. And I don’t think he ever showcased an attraction between two women.

But the two finest qualities of Fingersmith are the writing, which is somehow both restrained and vivid, and the impeccably constructed plot. Over and over, Waters moves her story along in a straightforward way, only to throw in a curve that turns everything you thought you understood upside down. The energy, the forward momentum, is remarkable. I was unable to put the book down, to the point where I dreamed up chores that would give me an excuse to keep listening. (By the way, Juanita McMahon does an outstanding job as narrator.)

I can’t thank Jenna enough for encouraging me to start reading as soon as she saw the book hit my TBR. It’s everything you said it would be, Jenna!