I've been wanting to read this book ever since I read about it in "So Many Books, So Little Time", so when I spotted a copy in the local Oxfam for the bargain price of £2.99 I could not resist! I hope to read it soon.

Synopsis from Amazon

Gripping from the first page, this immense novel is an intoxicating and deeply satisfying read. Faber's most ambitious fictional creation yet, it is sure to affirm his position as one of the most talented and brilliant writers working in the UK. Sugar, an alluring, nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs Castaway, yearns for a better life. Her ascent through the strata of 1870's London society offers us intimacy with a host of loveable, maddening and superbly realised characters. At the heart of this panoramic, multi-layered narrative is the compelling struggle of a young woman to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. The Crimson Petal and the White is a big, juicy, must-read of a novel that will delight, enthral, provoke and entertain young and old, male and female.

Donated this book to either the British Heart Foundation charity shop, the Cancer Research charity shop or the Eden Hospice charity shop in Carlisle.