The Fraud: The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

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Book of the Year 2023 according to numerous prestigious publications, this historical novel by Zadie Smith delves into the complexities of truth and fiction, exploring who has the right to tell their story. Set against the backdrop of Victorian England, it centers on the real-life trial of the Tichborne Claimant, where a cockney butcher claims the Tichborne baronetcy, with former slave Andrew Bogle as a key witness. Eliza Touchet, the cousin and housekeeper of struggling novelist William Harrison Ainsworth, observes the trial, eager to share her own narrative. Smith skillfully intertwines the lives of the rich and poor, the free and enslaved, blending humor with tragedy. Critics laud the novel for its extraordinary combination of meticulously researched history and vivid imagination. Michael Frayn praises it as one of the great historical novels, while the New York Times celebrates the pleasure of being in Smith's mind. The Independent highlights its reflection on Britain, and the Guardian commends its deft writing and intricate construction, capturing the essence of literary London and the horrors of slavery.