The Fraud
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The Fraud
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Narrated by:
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Zadie Smith
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By:
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Zadie Smith
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
Book of the Year 2023 according to New York Times, New Yorker, Guardian, Economist, Observer, The Spectator, Financial Times, Vogue, The Times, The Oldie, i Paper, The Standard, Washington Post, Independent, Daily Express
SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WRITERS’ PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024
ONE OF SARAH JESSICA PARKER’S BEST BOOKS OF 2023
LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2024
Truth and fiction. Jamaica and Britain. Who gets to tell their story?
In her first historical novel, Zadie Smith transports the reader to a Victorian England transfixed by the real-life trial of the Tichborne Claimant, in which a cockney butcher, recently returned from Australia, lays claim to the Tichborne baronetcy, with his former slave Andrew Bogle as star witness. Watching the proceedings, and with her own story to tell, is Eliza Touchet – cousin, housekeeper and perhaps more – to failing novelist William Harrison Ainsworth.
From literary London to the Jamaica’s sugar-cane plantations, Zadie Smith weaves an enthralling story linking the rich and the poor, the free and the enslaved, and the comic and the tragic.
‘A writer at the peak of her powers’ The Telegraph
‘It’s difficult to give any idea of how extraordinary this book is. One of the great historical novels, certainly. But has any historical novel ever combined such brilliantly researched and detailed history with such intensely imagined fiction?' Michael Frayn
‘As always it is a pleasure to be in Zadie Smith’s mind . . . Dickens may be dead, but Smith, thankfully, is alive’ New York Times
‘Zadie Smith’s Victorian-set masterpiece holds a mirror up to Britain . . . The Fraud is the genuine article’ Independent
‘Smith’s dazzling historical novel combines deft writing and strenuous construction in a tale of literary London and the horrors of slavery’ Guardian
Instant Sunday Times bestseller, September 2023
©2023 Zadie Smith (P)2023 Penguin Audio
What listeners say about The Fraud
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-10-2023
No no no no no!
Genius author who I revere and who's books I inhale with ever increasing admiration.
but she's no narrator, had to stop listening because I couldn't follow the story. Bought the book and whizzed through it.
Writers write, actors act - sure there's crossovers but in this case, unlistenable
Heartbreaking
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 15-04-2024
My favourite author
I have read all her books and this one is a joy. A must read
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kerry Kilner
- 18-09-2023
Zadie Smith is a mistress of the 19th century tale
The immense scholarship on display here is awe inspiring. Smith has taken the style of a 19th century novelist, reproduced it but given it so much more depth and nuance than could ever be achieved by a lesser novelist of then or now. A superb examination of the lunacy at the base of the British class system and its colonial history including its key role in the slave trade over hundreds of years. The ability of the British to obscure and elide their culpability is demonstrated ably without burdening a gripping narrative with didacticism. What an astonishingly brilliant writer! And her narration was brilliant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- michele taylor
- 17-09-2023
Enthralling Tale
What a great story made all the better when narrated by the author. Wonderful treat.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-02-2024
Very wordy descriptions of people and places. So many characters, it was difficult to keep track of who they were.
Too long and the description of the trial was too long and drawn out to maintain my interest. I’m still none the wiser who the fraud was!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- D. Darby
- 08-09-2024
Entertaining
This is entertaining and interesting historical fiction but it was a bit confusing trying to follow the many storylines.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Katherine Henzell
- 21-05-2024
Brilliant
I loved this book all about what it means to be free, enslaved or have a fraudulent view of yourself. It’s wonderful to look at history from an e rudely different angle and reflect on its meaning today.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-02-2025
Brilliant weaving of historical fact with stunning fiction.
Wonderful characters which challenge reader’s understanding of history. Excellent language. Engaging reading by author. Highly recommend.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 29-02-2024
Awful narration
Couldn’t keep going with this. Seemed an interesting idea but it kept getting bogged down. The author should have paid for a professional narration.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Eden
- 18-12-2023
pass this on iver
At first i thought the narrators lisp was an affectation of the character. Then i came to realise that would be the style throughout the book. So difficult to follow. perhaps the print version wpukd be easier to follow.
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