Sarah Waters, Affinity

Louisa Yates (University of Chester)

Ed. by Cristina Sandru, The Literary Encyclopedia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1999

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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The second of Sarah Waters' trilogy of queer Victorian historical novels,

Affinity

is a claustrophobic five-part tale of deception, desire, imprisonment and spiritualism, set within the walls of Millbank prison. The narrative is set in two strands, denoted by different typefaces and set in different times, reflecting the two protagonists, the prisons' lady visitor, Margaret Prior, and spiritualist Selina Dawes. Part romance, part crime novel, part gothic horror, part 19th century social commentary, it won several awards in 2000, most notably the Somerset Maugham Award for Lesbian and Gay Fiction and the

Sunday Times

Young Writer of the Year Award. In keeping with its neo-Victorian status, the novel situates lesbian desire within the context of a specific nineteenth-century craze, in this…

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2283 words

Citation: Yates, Louisa. "Affinity". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 January 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23071, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Sarah Waters, Affinity

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