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The Confessions of Frannie Langton: A Novel…
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The Confessions of Frannie Langton: A Novel (original 2019; edition 2019)

by Sara Collins (Author)

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7173131,851 (3.6)37
A servant and former slave is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in this astonishing historical thriller that moves from a Jamaican sugar plantation to the fetid streets of Georgian London-a remarkable literary debut with echoes of Alias Grace, The Underground Railroad, and The Paying Guests. All of London is abuzz with the scandalous case of Frannie Langton, accused of the brutal double murder of her employers, renowned scientist George Benham and his eccentric French wife, Marguerite. Crowds pack the courtroom, eagerly following every twist, while the newspapers print lurid theories about the killings and the mysterious woman being held in the Old Bailey. The testimonies against Frannie are damning. She is a seductress, a witch, a master manipulator, a whore. But Frannie claims she cannot recall what happened that fateful evening, even if remembering could save her life. She doesn't know how she came to be covered in the victims' blood. But she does have a tale to tell: a story of her childhood on a Jamaican plantation, her apprenticeship under a debauched scientist who stretched all bounds of ethics, and the events that brought her into the Benhams' London home-and into a passionate and forbidden relationship. Though her testimony may seal her conviction, the truth will unmask the perpetrators of crimes far beyond murder and indict the whole of English society itself. The Confessions of Frannie Langton is a breathtaking debut: a murder mystery that travels across the Atlantic and through the darkest channels of history. A brilliant, searing depiction of race, class, and oppression that penetrates the skin and sears the soul, it is the story of a woman of her own making in a world that would see her unmade.… (more)
Member:ccaballero94
Title:The Confessions of Frannie Langton: A Novel
Authors:Sara Collins (Author)
Info:Harper (2019), Edition: First Edition, 384 pages
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The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins (2019)

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» See also 37 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 30 (next | show all)
The Confessions of Frannie Langton takes on two 19th-century writing conventions, the gothic novel and the slave narrative, and deconstructs them both. The narrator is Frannie Langton, a black woman in London accused of the double murder of her master George Benham and his French wife Marguerite. Frannie claims to be unable to remember the murder and instead writes to her lawyer the story of her life.

Frannie was born into slavery in Jamaica and served a man named Langton who considered himself a scientist dedicated to proving the inferiority of Black people. When Langton brings Frannie to England she ostensibly becomes a free person, but he "gifts" her to Benham, another dubious scientist, and essentially remains a captive. But Franny and Marguerite form a romantic connection which lends Franny both new privileges and greater risks.

Sara Collins performed thorough historical research to support the details of this story and it shows. It's a historical novel but one that reflects on the dark side of humanity, as well as love and justice (or the lack thereof). It's a novel designed to disturb and it does it well. ( )
  Othemts | Jan 15, 2024 |
This is a really powerful book. Narrated by Frannie, a servant and former slave accused of murdering her employer and his wife, this incredibly thought-provoking novel takes us on a journey through Frannie's hard life, from her life on a plantation in Jamaica to service in London. Frannie's life is brutal and tragic, and any joys she has are short-lived and lead to further doom.

At times it reminded me of Atwood's [b:Alias Grace|72579|Alias Grace|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1298545436l/72579._SY75_.jpg|2069530], which I absolutely adored, but also introduces several original elements unique to Frannie's story. The pace was slightly too slow for me at times, but overall this was a great read and a powerful commentary on attitudes towards race, class and gender.


I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )
  bookforthought | Nov 7, 2023 |
I am giving up on this one. It just isn’t moving. There is so much promise, but the story never got enough momentum for me. I might try it again, but I am moving on for now. ( )
  michelleannlib | Aug 12, 2023 |
3.5* ( )
  LisaBergin | Apr 12, 2023 |
I was looking forward to this and I was not disappointed. Frannie Langton is a captivatingly written complex character. Spanning her life as a young slave on the the sugar cane plantations of Jamaica to her being 'gifted' to household in London in the 1800s, this book took me on a journey that was, at times, hard to accept. That people have been, and continue to be, so disgusting, horrible, and ignorant is no surprise to me and yet still there were moments that I wanted to turn away. This is not, however, a gratuitous or sensational story. Sara Collins allows Frannie's story to unfold slowly. She takes her time and is deliberate with her words. The Confessions of Frannie Langton is a beautifully written account of the strength of the human spirit despite the ugliness of humanity. ( )
  Jess.Stetson | Apr 4, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 30 (next | show all)
"In truth, no one expects any kind of story from a woman like me," writes the narrator of Sara Collins' intricate gothic novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton. "Like me" means a former slave from Jamaica, awaiting trial for the brutal murder of her new employers....At its worst, Collins' style is hampered by repetition, excess, and meaningless aphorism. At its best, it is full-hearted and visceral: "I am guilty of this," Frannie writes.....The true, vital energy of this book comes from its preoccupation with knowledge, science, and writing, both for their inherent values and because they are proxies for power..... In its best moments, The Confessions of Frannie Langton is less a romance or a mystery than a counter-curse.
 
Sara Collins begins her gothic debut in a familiar setting: a 19th-century prison, where fallen woman Frannie Langton is being tried for a murder she cannot remember. But that’s where the similarity to Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace ends.....Frannie is an extreme version of Jane Eyre. She is a powerless child brought up horribly in a horrible place, and her voice thunders in exactly the same way....Between her historical research, Frannie’s voice and a plot that never slows to a walk, the novel pulls the gothic into new territory and links it back to its origins. It points at the reader and asks whether it might be a sign of atrocious privilege to enjoy a genre devoted to the grotesque – especially when the grotesquerie comes from things that might plausibly have happened in the name of science and sugar money.
 

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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Collins, Saraprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bilardello, RobinCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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A servant and former slave is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in this astonishing historical thriller that moves from a Jamaican sugar plantation to the fetid streets of Georgian London-a remarkable literary debut with echoes of Alias Grace, The Underground Railroad, and The Paying Guests. All of London is abuzz with the scandalous case of Frannie Langton, accused of the brutal double murder of her employers, renowned scientist George Benham and his eccentric French wife, Marguerite. Crowds pack the courtroom, eagerly following every twist, while the newspapers print lurid theories about the killings and the mysterious woman being held in the Old Bailey. The testimonies against Frannie are damning. She is a seductress, a witch, a master manipulator, a whore. But Frannie claims she cannot recall what happened that fateful evening, even if remembering could save her life. She doesn't know how she came to be covered in the victims' blood. But she does have a tale to tell: a story of her childhood on a Jamaican plantation, her apprenticeship under a debauched scientist who stretched all bounds of ethics, and the events that brought her into the Benhams' London home-and into a passionate and forbidden relationship. Though her testimony may seal her conviction, the truth will unmask the perpetrators of crimes far beyond murder and indict the whole of English society itself. The Confessions of Frannie Langton is a breathtaking debut: a murder mystery that travels across the Atlantic and through the darkest channels of history. A brilliant, searing depiction of race, class, and oppression that penetrates the skin and sears the soul, it is the story of a woman of her own making in a world that would see her unmade.

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