At the heart of the novel is a boyish-looking young prostitute named Sugar. Unusually perceptive of her clientele's innermost desires, Sugar has become a local legend, even warranting lascivious mention in a gentleman's brochure mildly called More Sprees in London. Sugar desperately yearns for a life away far from the maddening crowd of London's bordellos.
She plots to escape from her haggard and frightening madam, Mrs. Castaway, to a respectable life on her own terms. Sugar writes about her plans and experiences, hoping to make a novel that will shock the gentile society women of London and reveal their husbands' whereabouts when they are not at the dinner table.
William Rackhamthe, the son of one of London's largest perfumers, aids Sugar in her escape. William has shown no interest in company business until a chance meeting with Sugar sets him on a course of action. In part due to Sugar's incredible business acumen- gleaned from both her former customers and her own good sense-William is able to rise from the post of well-to-do roustabout to the upper echelons of London society.
William's social progress is impeded, however, by his curiously ill wife, Agnes. Agnes suffers from such an acute denial of her sexuality and inadequate knowledge of basic anatomy that she is baffled by the fact that she was able to menstruate, let alone bear a child, and refuses to acknowledge her daughter's existence.
Reeling from his wife's chilly reception of his advances, William becomes increasingly possessive of Sugar. He reaches an agreement with Mrs. Castaway and becomes Sugar's sole proprietor. The rest of the novel deals with the precarious relationship that develops between Sugar and William. Both characters change almost imperceptibly from page to page after their initial meeting and find their former selves almost unrecognizable by the novel's end.
The story of William and Sugar unfolds over 838 pages, yet never becomes stale or uneventful. This is partially due to the 20 years of research Faber put into the creation of this, his fifth, novel. Faber creates a world of such precise detail that the reader begins to think in terms of Victorian mores.
Because of the startling plethora of detail, phrases such as "Dear Reader" do not seem vain or pretentious but merely an extension of Faber's brilliant grasp of his story. The story is a sprawling, multi-generational and multidimensional mess of characters, subplots, motives and counter-motives. At times, with all the action, one could confuse the story's movement with an intense chess game.
Faber provides indirect commentary and criticism of his characters in what might seem to be just passing detail. When Sugar is spying on the Rackham estate, for example, Faber adds, "A small dog stationed just outside the gate to William Rackham's property raises its mongrel head in hope, then begins to lick its genitals, unaware that this is not the way to earn respect."
In his use of details, Faber is able to write a graphically sexual novel without being indiscreet or vulgar. The infrequent and limited vulgar information is delivered in jest and usually in a manner that denotes a facet of one of his characters. Beneath the glossy and entrancing surface of this novel is a powerful exploration of sexual politics, female empowerment in the 1870s, child abuse and maternal cruelty.
Faber began this novel in 1981 while still a student at Melbourne University. Born in the Netherlands, Faber learned English as a second language (after Dutch). As an author, he also received attention for his novel "Under the Skin" and his collection of short stories, "Some Rain Must Fall."
There is no doubt that with "The Crimson Petal and the White," Faber will soon become one of the most notable names in fiction. This novel soars with exquisite detail, wonderfully drawn characters and a silent agenda to draw the reader's attention to the undertow accompanying the glossy and glamorous wave of life in high society. Faber succeeds by using a modern eye to view Victorian ideals with a wide, boundless scope, leaving the reader breathless at the view.