The Crimson Petal and the White
| The Crimson Petal and the White | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Michel Faber |
| Publisher | Canongate (UK) Harcourt (US) |
| Publication date | 2002 |
| Pages | 864 |
| ISBN | 9781841953236 |
| OCLC Number | 315627914 |
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber is a 2002 novel set in Victorian-era England.
The title is from a 1847 poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson entitled "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal", the opening line of which is "Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white".
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
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This section requires expansion. |
Canongate published The Apple, a selection of short stories based on characters from The Crimson Petal and the White, in 2006.
[edit] Plot synopsis
The main characters include William Rackham, the unwilling heir to a perfume business; Agnes, William's brittle, long-suffering "mad wife in the attic"; and Sugar, a decidedly unconventional and strong-willed young prostitute whose intense affair with William gives her the opportunity to climb to a higher perch in the rigidly stratified class system of the time. Other characters include Henry Rackham, William's pious brother who wants to be a clergyman, and his friend Emmeline Fox, a widow who works in the Rescue Society that tries to reform prostitutes.
The novel is told from the perspective of all of the main characters, and the omniscient narrator occasionally addresses the reader directly. There is also a meta-literary aspect, as Sugar is working on her own novel, Henry writes sermons, and Agnes keeps a diary. The novel was generally well-received by critics.
[edit] In other media
In 2010, the BBC announced the production of a four-part miniseries based on the novel; viewing started in April 2011. The adaptation's cast includes Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Gillian Anderson, Richard E. Grant, Shirley Henderson, Amanda Hale, Mark Gatiss, Tom Georgeson and Liz White; it was adapted by Lucinda Coxon and directed by Marc Munden.[1] The director of photography was Lol Crawley.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Sawers, Claire (March 24, 2011). "Michel Faber interview - The Crimson Petal and the White". The List. http://www.list.co.uk/article/33480-michel-faber-interview-the-crimson-petal-and-the-white/.
- Faber, Michel (April 6, 2011). "The Crimson Petal and the White: Watching my novel reborn on TV". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/06/crimson-petal-white-my-novel-faber.
