• The Crimson Petal and the White

  • By: Michel Faber
  • Narrated by: Jill Tanner
  • Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (1,157 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Crimson Petal and the White  By  cover art

The Crimson Petal and the White

By: Michel Faber
Narrated by: Jill Tanner
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $32.68

Buy for $32.68

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

NOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMA starring Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Gillian Anderson, Richard E. Grant, Shirley Henderson, and Mark Gatiss.

'Watch your step. Keep your wits about you; you will need them....' So begins this irresistible voyage into the dark side of Victorian London. Amongst an unforgettable cast of low-lifes, physicians, businessmen, and prostitutes, meet our heroine Sugar, a young woman trying to drag herself up from the gutter any way she can. Be prepared for a mesmerising tale of passion, intrigue, ambition, and revenge.

©2011 Michel Faber (P)2011 W.F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"A big, sexy, bravura novel...wildly entertaining." (The New York Times)
"Irresistibly readable." (Ruth Rendell)
"Faber is the master of the spine-tingling page-turner, while creating a wholly believable universe." (Dazed and Confused)

What listeners say about The Crimson Petal and the White

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    571
  • 4 Stars
    281
  • 3 Stars
    156
  • 2 Stars
    62
  • 1 Stars
    87
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    741
  • 4 Stars
    174
  • 3 Stars
    62
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    29
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    501
  • 4 Stars
    250
  • 3 Stars
    140
  • 2 Stars
    57
  • 1 Stars
    84

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this Book!!

I loved this book SO much and when I read the first review that was written for this book I felt so sorry for waiting to give my opinion. I think that anyone that enjoyed watching "The Duchess of Duke Street" and/or "Upstairs, Downstairs" on PBS would probably like this story as well or more. This is not a book for the squeamish so if you cannot tolerate a certain amount of sex and unpleasantness, don't bother. I was able to keep track of the many characters quite easily, partly because the narrator is so easily understood. Once I started listening, I was so hooked! I finished this almost 42 hour book in just 10 days and wished it was longer. The ending was excellent. It was a bargain for just one credit. (Editor NOT needed, thank you very much).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

72 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • MJ
  • 10-24-11

Can't Put It Down

While I freely admit, I am not finished with this book......not even finished with part one of the five, I have to say I LOVE IT. I wanted to counter the few less than stellar reviews given by previous reviewers. Yes, it is rather long-winded and probably could have used a more scissor-happy editor; however, this is one thing I love about the book. The author is indeed verbose, using many words to describe people, places, and things, but this has always helped me to more easily visualize settings and characters. I detest authors who are skimpy with descriptors (I guess I just don't have a vivid enough imagination). This author is excellent and I will be looking forward to more from her.

Believe it or not, the characters come across as likeable (more or less), even when they are obviously toffee-nosed snobs. The book is definitely adult. If you are squeamish about sex, coarse language, and the seedier side of life, do give it a miss. BUT if you, as well as I, enjoy reading about lives lived completely differently than your own, buy it. You just might find yourself being transported to a different place and time. And you WON'T want to leave. I actually can't wait to finish this review so I can turn on my iPod again to be sent back to London, circa 1874. I'm anxious to see how Sugar is getting along; how William will manage his serious "issues", and to meet the other interesting and complex characters created by Ms. Faber.

Apparently this book has been made into a major BBC drama now starring Romola Garai, a terrific, young, English actress. I'd love to see it sometime. It'd be interesting to see how they "clean it up" for airing on public television.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

MESMERIZING STORY, HISTORICAL AMBIENCE, BUT.....

I loved this book - every word of it, from the very unusual start.....right down to the last words BEFORE the ending. You quickly become immersed in the hidden Victorian world of sex for sale and the sinners who consider themselves perfect gentlemen in every way - with no thought or understanding of the women they use and abuse, whether whores, wives or servants.

All the realistic and captivating characters are totally believable, and the narrator clearly defines them. The plot has twists and turns that are, for the most part, not too surprising. But the characters, and the story, carry you forward, and keep you caring about the characters - with hope that the story will be true to their personalities and the expected choices that they should make.

You quickly find yourself cheering for an extraordinary 'fallen woman' and hoping that she will overcome all the odds against her. Then wonderful things begin to happen to this deserving woman, and you want this to be the best 'Cinderella story' of all time. But I don't want to spoil the ending for you.

Under ordinary circumstances, I would have rated this book at 5 stars. But, the sudden, unexpected ending really ticked me off - and I down-graded the rating by 1 star. This is ?going to be? or is ?now? a BBC series - so I must assume that the reason for the abrupt ending for the book is because a SECOND season (and book) will soon be on our reading horizon. Curses on the ending of a series that leaves you hanging! But it's nice to know that you will eventually 'know all', when the next season begins. I am looking forward to seeing the TV series - and certainly looking forward to another book that continues with the life of Sugar - a very unusual lady of the night.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

41 hours of my life, and he couldn't decide how...

Any additional comments?

to end it? I was so sucked in - could not stop listening - could not wait to see how everything would work out. Then it literally just ended. I thought it was a mistake and listened to the last few minutes 3 times to make sure I didn't miss anything. It's like the author wrote this great story and couldn't decide how to end it, so he just ended it. Urggggg!
I usually try to avoid writing bad reviews, but this one just really bugged me enough to say something. It's such good writing, such interesting flawed characters, to get so vested...how could he not tell us what happened to everyone? I'm so disappointed. :(

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

needs a sequel

A wonderful book...but the ending is so unsatisfactory... In fact, there is no ending at all - there is an abrupt stop - it actually made me mad and wanting. Listen anyway - it is a masterpiece.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Needed a really good editor.... Tedious

This book is in need of a really good editor... It is extremely tedious and much, much too long and is repititious and boring. The narrator read really well but the book needs desperately to be condensed and to get to the point. Over 40 hours of listening which I suppose is good for long distance travellers but I very quickly lost interest in the characters and was sorry I had bought it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Add my name to the list of devoted fans!

What a brilliant book. I hung on every word of this amazing tale. I thought I would be less than pleased with the ending, but it felt just right to me. I'm so glad I took a chance on it. It will be one of my favorite "re-reads" in years to come. Michel Faber is a genius. And Jill Tanner does him proud!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Contemporary Dickens

What a fantastic story. From the first word to the last! A contemporary Dickens, Mr. Faber has written a cast of characters to warm the heart and treat the eye in 1860's London. With just enough sex to shock a Victorian, he leads us on a journey of vice and redemption. Even the superb narrator adds humanity with occasional growls of tummy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Horrible!

I can't believe I wasted so much time on a book with no redeeming (or even interesting) characters, endless (pointless and lewd) descriptions of the horrors of Victorian prostitution and a plot that went NOWHERE. I'm stunned that anyone thought this novel was worth publishing, let alone making an audiobook and apparently a TV adaptation. Seldom have I been so disappointed in a read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing, unappealing characters

What did you like best about The Crimson Petal and the White? What did you like least?

I generally am very fond of historical fiction. It was clear the author had done her research. She chose to write about the seamy underbelly of Victorian England, and portrayed it very well. But I also prefer books with characters who are sympathetic. They don't have to be perfect (in fact, perfect characters are usually annoying) but there has to be somewhere I can connect, on an emotional level, with the people the story is about. I didn't like any of the characters in Faber's book, so by the (extremely unsatisfying and inconclusive) end, I didn't really care what happened to any of them.

What could Michel Faber have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I found the author's use of the present tense in the narrative voice distracting and affected. I also hated the "dear reader" style interjections into the narrative. I could see that the author might have been trying to evoke a Victorian prose style, but again, it just didn't work for me. A straightforward, omniscient narrative voice, in the past tense would have helped -- though with such a dearth of sympathetic characters, even that wouldn't have saved it for me.

Which character – as performed by Jill Tanner – was your favorite?

I liked none of the characters. The least detestable were Henry and Emmaline Fox, but even they were not sympathetically portrayed. I thought the narrator did a decent job with the material -- at least, her characters were relatively easy to tell apart, and not annoyingly affected (I do hate it when narrators use inappropriate regional accents to differentiate characters -- especially when the people are members of the same family -- and Tanner doesn't do that...)

Did The Crimson Petal and the White inspire you to do anything?

I did plow through to the end. But that's fairly faint praise. I don't have any desire to seek out the television version, nor to read the next book in the saga (if one is ever written).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful