Book Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Dr. Faraday has always been impressed by Hundreds Hall, the house in which his mother worked as a maid when he was a child. Now a doctor, Faraday has opportunities to visit the hall, now in crumbling decline, for both business and social reasons. As he begins to form a close relationship with the hall’s spinster mistress Caroline Ayres, Faraday discovers just how tenuous the Ayres hold on their social status – and their sanity – really is.


Waters does foreboding and creeptastic atmosphere well, but at nearly 500 pages, this one was simply too long. Can I admit that I skipped 100 pages in the middle and didn’t feel like I missed a thing?

Thanks to skipping those pages, I probably enjoyed this one more than I should have though. The first 100 pages or so are delicious, as Waters richly describes Hundreds Hall and introduces us to the various main characters. When the titular “little stranger” starts rearing its invisible head, it’s fascinating at first, but quickly becomes grating as the characters endlessly discuss whether or not a ghost is afoot. The end picked up again and did a lot towards redeeming the novel in my eyes. Still, if you haven’t read Waters yet, I wouldn’t recommend you start here. Definitely pick up FINGERSMITH first.

THE LITTLE STRANGER is now available in paperback. Find out more about it on the author's website.