We follow Grace - a young Victorian woman taken in by her aristocratic Aunt and Uncle due to her own parents’ madness and subsequent incarceration in an asylum. She lives there with her Cousin Charles, who suddenly and mysteriously runs away to sea, only returning after years of no contact to claim his inheritance. But is it really him?

As the family and their hangers on grapple with his identity, Grace is dealing with questions about her own - her sexuality, her place within the household and her future.

This is a slower paced story that focuses on thoughts and feelings rather than a racing plot. It reminded me of a classic ‘sad girl novel’, the long tradition of women’s literary fiction that trades in melancholy, introspection and emotional nuance (think Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and Toni Morrison). It also had a hint of the gothic, but a potentially supernatural opener turned out to be a larger and more contemplative exploration of authenticity, identity and sense of self.

Thank you to @simonschusterUK and the author for a gifted advanced copy - The Original by Nell Stevens is out in the UK now!

A queer historical novel with a satisfying gothic tinge. Set in the closing years of the nineteenth century Nell Stevens’s moving, atmospheric piece centres on Grace Inderwick. Sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle as a child when her parents were hidden away in separate asylums, Grace feels as if she’s destined to be a permanent outsider. Her older cousin Charles becomes her closest friend but when he runs away from home Grace finds herself even more adrift. Alone in her room she hones her only skill an ability to copy great works of art so convincingly her versions barely differ from the originals. But this talent isn’t her only secret, Grace loves women, contenting herself with snatched moments with a series of ultimately-unavailable women. As time passes, her uncle and younger cousins die, leaving Grace and her aunt alone in their family home Inderwick Hall, a place whose chill corridors echo the emotional wasteland within. Then, after thirteen years, a man surfaces claiming to be the long-lost Charles and suddenly everything seems to be about to change.

Stevens’s accomplished novel revolves around the mystery of the adult Charles’s true identity. A mystery that’s mirrored in Grace’s attempts to work out who she is and who she wants to become. Stevens’s narrative’s been compared to work by Daphne Du Maurier, Sarah Waters and even Wilkie Collins, not unjustifiably. Aspects of Grace’s story reminded me of My Cousin Rachel, others of Waters’s Affinity and Collins’s brooding tales of troubled families. Woven into Stevens’s plot are detailed discussions of Grace’s forged paintings which, in turn, form a commentary on key themes from authenticity to self-doubt to the ‘new woman’ and the so-called Sapphic craze: from Courbet’s famously controversial Le Sommeil which sparked a fascination with depictions of lesbian lovers – albeit filtered through the male gaze - to the Arnolfini Portrait which raises issues around capitalism, exploitation, and social hierarchies. Overall gripping, entertaining and insightful.

The Original is a highly unique piece of historical fiction and I loved every single page. We meet our leading character Grace Inderwick, after she has come to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, due to both her parents being placed in mental asylums. Grace is certainly a misfit (we assume neurodivergent, but that would not have had that label in the Victorian era), whom feels either ignored or one who causes annoyance to all her family members, apart from her cousin Charles whom kindly takes her under his wing. She has a rather unusual deficit, in that she has face blindness and struggles to remember faces to such an alarming degree that even those people she sees regularly, she gets confuddled by. Conversely she also has a very unique talent - Grace can expertly copy artists’ works with such precision, she can memorise and then recreate masterpieces to a quality of a professional copyist. (I did find these two aspects a little at odds with each other, but I let it go!) When her cousin Charles has a family disagreement, he suddenly leaves to live life at sea and is later thought to have been lost at sea, but then, more than a decade later, following the death of his father, Charles returns to claim his ‘rightful’ inheritance - but his appearance is somewhat changed and the family question, all bar his mother (who is clearly rather bonkers!), whether he is in fact the original Charles, or is he an imposter, a expert copyist?

I absolutely adored this comedic tale about Grace’s wonderfully odd character, and we are told the story through the thought processes and life experiences of Grace, her cousin ‘Charles’ and his lover Green. At times, Grace’s tale reads much like a stream of consciousness, ramblings of an (almost) mad person, but I found the focus on life’s minutiae and idiosyncrasies utterly fascinating and highly amusing at times. It was wittily clever take on this family’s heritage, almost Shakespearean in quality, examining the meaning of sanity, lineage, sexuality, family and what makes one unique and original. A firm 5/5 for me, and now I’m off to search Nell Steven’s back catalogue!

Big thanks to NetGallery for providing an ARC.w

I enjoyed this book in parts - it was really well written and I was interested in the central mystery about Charles’ true identity.

I did feel that the book was a little overlong and could have been condensed in parts (some of the scenes in London and of Grace creating her paintings felt a bit redundant).

Ironically, I found it a little unoriginal and reminiscent of a lot of other historical novels that have been released in recent years.

All that to say, it did have some really good points and definitely has broad appeal. It reminded me in parts of Patricia Highsmith and Daphne DuMaurier, who are two of my favourite authors.

Nine-year-old Grace is sent to Inderwick Hall when her parents are confined to an asylum. Unused to being around people, her social awkwardness exacerbated by face blindness, her only ally is her cousin who teaches her how to paint. When he abruptly leaves after a row with his father, Grace becomes more miserable, her only solace thoughts of escape. She has no creative aptitude but her talent as a copyist is superb and there’s money in that. By the time a letter arrives from a man claiming to be Charles Inderwick, Grace’s aunt has lost her two other children then her husband although there’s no love lost there. While the household of hangers-on decry the new Charles as an impostor, Grace is in two minds, but her aunt becomes convinced. This new son seems to know things only Charles could know and yet Grace remains unsure. Should he prove his case, he will inherit the estate but after the death of her father, it is Grace who will become the heir.
The Original's premise is a familiar one both in fiction and history but Stevens brings it to life, telling the story through Grace. Neatly handling the puzzle of Charles’s identity, she keeps us guessing and I enjoyed her descriptions of art and technique, explored through three paintings carefully copied by Grace. Throughout it all, she poses the question: Is a copy to be dismissed as worthless? Does the act of copying lend value to the original, an act of homage almost? I’m not entirely sure I’d go along with Stevens’s answer, but I liked her resolution to the Inderwick conundrum.

There are books where you know you will miss them desperately once they have ended. This is one of them.
This is the story of Grace Inderwick, ward of the icy-souled Inderwick family at the turn of the last century. Her cousin Charles is the only kindly person that tethers her to the family seat - until he disappears. Under Charles’s tuition, Grace had discovered that she is rubbish at painting, but excels at copying old masters. Could she become independent from the family through her talent? Years later Charles resurfaces, but is he the original or a carefully crafted copy?

A cleverly woven plot with gorgeously rich prose and a shocking twist.

I was a huge fan of Nell Stevens' Briefly, A Delicious Life and really loved this too -- so clever and well-written.

I love this story. It's buzzing with life and intrigue. `Our narrator, Grace Inderwick, is sent to live with her hideous aunt and uncle when both her parents are declared insane and sent to asylums. She arrives hoping to be welcomed into a loving family only to find her dreams could not be further from the truth. The only human relationship she has is with her cousin, Charles. Charles teaches her to paint and unlocks her talent for forgery before he runs away to sea and disappears.

Years later Charles returns under mysterious circumstances and Grace is drawn into the puzzle of figuring out what is real and what may be a copy, in art and in life. This is a brilliant, witty tale told with brio and a dark humour and matching fury. Grace is a terrific character and I absolutely romped through this. In parts it reminded me of the work of Sarah Waters in a thrilling way.

Set in 1899 the story follows Grace, a painter, who can always tell if a painting is a forgery or copy. When a long lost male cousin shows up at the family pile, some members of the family question of the stranger is who he says he is. Can Grace decide if he is the original or just a very good copy? This was well written and an intriguing tale.

To say I wanted more would be an understatement. This was a delicious page turner right from the start. Everytime I had to put it down, it was all I could think about. I did end up finishing way past my bedtime, just so I would be able to sleep. For lovers of art and intrigue.

Passionate , sensual and often funny, this is a pacy, satisfying read. Grace is the ward of her oppressive and controlling gothic Aunt and grasping apoplectic Uncle, and Grace is an original in this vivid story about originals, copies and forgeries. Author Nell Stevens uses colour and pigment names to paint so many descriptions: from the Caput Mortuum brown of her widowed aunt’s mouldering, neglected estate to the sensual pinks of the Rokeby Venus. Grace’s cousin’s great love is named Green, her amour Ruby. As an artist, I was delighted by the accuracy of the writing about painting and paintings. I was also drawn to Grace, whose inability to recognise faces (Prosopagnosia) and social anxiety is combined with her clear sense of justice which made me feel invested in her as a vulnerable but brave character. I suspect that Grace is neurodivergent and liked reading her refreshing, Savant’s voice as she navigated the colonialism, homophobia and misogyny that marked Britain at the turn of the 20th century.

Grace is a talented painter, raised by her aunt and uncle due to some unfortunate family background.
There was once a cousin called George.
Built on secrets, this is an interesting mystery and thriller with a beautiful prose.

I absolutely adored THE ORIGINAL. Set at the turn is the 20th century, it’s twisty, with layers of doubles and doppelgängers, from Grace’s ability to recreate master works of art to her cousin Charles’ reappearance.

Grace Inderwick, rescued from a worse fate by her aunt and uncle when her parents are separated and institutionalised, grows up not really understanding the vast wealth her father’s family have come from, but her life becomes dictated by it nonetheless. She discovers a talent for painting and sees it as a path toward her escape from the stifling confusions of the upper class, but Grace can work only as a (gifted) copyist, and cannot imagine her own artworks, incapable of visualising faces, even of recognising those she knows well. When Charles, presumed dead after more than a decade away at sea, returns to claim his family seat and the riches that come with it, he and his mother have to prove that he is who he says he is, but no one can quite remember what the young Charles looked like and whether this new Charles could be him, least of all Grace, the cousin he was closest with. Amidst all this, both Grace and Charles are hiding other secrets, afraid of being found out in more ways than one.

Nell Stevens’ latest novel is another gorgeously written world to get immersed in, with fewer ghosts than BRIEFLY, A DELICIOUS LIFE, but more skeletons in the closet.

Out in July, thanks to netgalley/scribner for the proof!

The Original by Nell Stevens is a compelling and well-written historical novel that I think will definitely be a hit with readers.

Set in 1899 this wonderful read tells the story of Grace.

Grace is a painter, an artist with the ability to spot forgeries and when her long lost councin returns home there are a few family members who question if he really is who he says he is..

I loved this book. It is atmospheric and a well told tale,

Highly recommended

I very much enjoyed this, it had me wondering all the way through, was this person actually Charles?
Grace was an interesting character, an amazing artist, all the talk of art had me googling some paintings too.
Whilst I felt I preferred the first half, firmly set in the Hall, the last part of the book brought everything together so well.
A really, really good read.