ABOUT
THE BOOK

The Crimson Petal and the White takes us back to the 1870’s where Sugar, an alluring, nineteen-year-old whore, yearns for a better life. Her ascent through the strata of London society introduces us to a host of loveable, maddening, superbly realised characters – an egotistical perfume manufacturer, his unhinged wife, his pious brother, his hidden child, preening socialites, guttersnipes, whores for all tastes and those zealous would-be reformers of fallen women, the Rescue Society.
At the heart of this panoramic, multi-layered narrative is one young woman’s compelling struggle to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. Although Faber’s stunning historical vision illuminates Sugar as a creature of her time, his compassion and insight gives her timeless and universal appeal.