Zadie Smith’s signature wit and skill at portraying relationships is there – but she seems somewhat hampered by the historical genre.7/10(Review by Prudence Wade) Non-fictionĤ. Bogle is far more interesting and compelling a character, yet Mrs Touchet is the majority of tale. It’s a fascinating look at England’s role in the slave trade – an inconvenient truth too often ignored in historical fiction – but ultimately it’s hard to care much about Mrs Touchet’s story. A court case of a working class man pretending to be a noble person is currently gripping the country, and through it we discover the story of Andrew Bogle, a Jamaican who works as the ‘nobleman’s’ page. It follows Mrs Touchet, widowed cousin to famed – but struggling – author William Ainsworth.

Like previous novels White Teeth and Swing Time, it’s set in northwest London – but in the 1800s. A new Zadie Smith novel is always a big literary event – The Fraud even more so, as it’s the author’s first foray into historical fiction.

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