The Paying Guests: A Review

 RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It is 1922, and in a hushed south London villa life is about to be transformed, as genteel widow Mrs Wray and her discontented daughter Frances are obliged to take in lodgers. Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the ‘clerk class’. Bring with them gramophone music, colour and fun – and dangerous desires. The most ordinary of lives, it seems, can explode into passion and drama… A love story that is also a crime story, this is vintage Sarah Waters.

 

I have had this book sitting on my bookshelves for a while. I don’t know what I expected this book to be, but I was surprised. I wasn’t sure what kind of story I was expecting from it, a mystery of sorts but this was more than I could have imagined. 

 

Set in 1922, after World War I, The Paying Guests tells the story of spinster Frances who lives with her mother Mrs Wray and is mourning the deaths of her brothers in the war. Her father is also dead, leaving behind considerable debts and due to this they have to take in lodgers. The lodgers that they take in are Leonard and Lilian Barber who are of the ‘clerk class’. A young, newly-wed couple, they bring with them colour, fun and music which Frances and her mother are not used to. However, with their arrival, dangerous desires begin to stir in Frances. 

 

At the beginning, Frances tries to remain distant from her lodgers, viewing them only as a means to an end. However, it is hard for her to ignore them as they all live under the same roof and are separated by only thin walls.

Over time, Frances develops a friendship with Mrs Barber, spending more and more time with her. The pair become each other’s confidants, going for walks together, having picnics, and going to family parties together. Mrs Wray and Mr Barber take notice of how often the pair are in each other’s company, but they cannot keep them apart. Their friendship continues to grow to more as they begin a secret relationship. The pair become lovers and must keep it secret from everyone, especially Mr Barber. 

            However, they are unable to keep it secret for long. A series of events occur that lead to a lot of trouble for Frances and Mrs Barber. The police are involved, and everything could be uncovered if they aren’t careful. It’s a book that has mystery, romance and everything all rolled up in one. From moments of happiness and elation to moments of desperation and heartbreak, this book has everything. There are so many twists and turns in it so that you never know what’s going to happen, but it keeps you hooked from the get-go. 

 

Like I said, this book has been sitting on my bookshelves for a while. I had heard that Sarah Waters was an amazing author, but I had never read any of her books. I wasn’t sure what I expected this book to be about, perhaps a little like a Downton Abbey storyline. It was so much more. I was hooked from the first chapter and I loved it. The story is happy and heart-breaking and exciting and sad. You root for the main characters but you also at times are against them. This book has made me want to read more of Sarah Waters’ novels and I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. 

Until next time, I'll continue reading with wanderlust.

📚🧳✈️🗺