The Original

The Original by Nell Stevens is a sly, addictive work of historical fiction with a gothic edge, set in late-Victorian Oxfordshire and alive with questions of art, desire and identity. From its first unsettling image—a painting reduced to ash and somehow returned—it invites you into a world where appearances are rarely reliable.

Grace Inderwick has grown up as an unwanted extra in her uncle’s grand but shabby household. She paints with uncanny skill, keeps to the margins, and harbours feelings she knows she can’t safely name. When a letter arrives from Saint Helena announcing the return of her cousin Charles, long presumed lost at sea, the house splits: is he truly Charles, or a practiced imposter?

Threading together forgery, family loyalty and queer longing, Stevens crafts a tense, elegant mystery about authenticity in art and love. Perfect for readers who enjoy literary mystery, Victorian settings and morally knotty heroines. Step inside and see what’s real.