Set in 1873, The Fraud by Zadie Smith covers many topics: Writers, slavery, imposters. Some of the novel I found confusing as it skips frequently from different locations and various country estates in England, to Jamaica (where many town names are the same as in England) and Australia. Most of the story is told through the eyes of the author William Ainsworth's cousin and housekeeper, Eliza. Although much of the fictional story is based on facts from manuscripts, diaries and newspapers, there is very little information remaining about Eliza Touchet. Her claim to fame is her 1842 edition of A Christmas Carol signed by Charles Dickens to Mrs. Touchet. It is the most expensive Dickens title ever sold at auction.
From the cover:
Mrs. Touchet is a woman of many interests: literature, justice, abolitionism, class, her cousin and his wives. But she suspects her cousin of having no talent, and his successful friend, Charles Dickens, of being a bully.
Andrew Bogle grew up enslaved on the Hope Plantation, Jamaica. He knows every lump of sugar comes with a human cost. He finds himself in London as a star witness in the Tichborne Trial where a lower class butcher from Australia claims he is Sir Roger Tichborne and rightful heir of a sizeable English estate.
