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The original : a novel / Nell Stevens.

Summary:

An unwanted guest of her uncle's family since childhood, Grace has grown up on the periphery of a once-great household. She has unusual predilections: for painting, particularly forgery; for deception; for other girls. Her life is altered when a letter arrives from the South Atlantic. The writer claims to be her cousin Charles, long presumed dead at sea. When he returns, a rift emerges between family members who claim he is an imposter and Grace's aunt, who insists he is her son. Grace, whose intimate knowledge of fakes is her own closely guarded secret, is forced to decide who to believe and who to pretend to believe. In deciphering the truth about her cousin, she comes to understand other truths: how money is found and lost, and who deserves to be rich; what family means to queer people; and the value of authenticity, in art and in love.
Raised on the fringes of her uncle's crumbling Oxfordshire estate, gifted art forger Grace plots her escape until the arrival of a man claiming to be her long-lost cousin forces her to confront shifting boundaries of identity and truth.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781324110699
  • ISBN: 1324110694
  • Physical Description: 328 pages ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2025]
Subject: Women artists > Fiction.
Painting > Copying > Fiction.
Secrecy > Fiction.
Art forgers > Fiction.
Lesbians > Fiction.
Cousins > Fiction.
Families > Fiction.
Great Britain > History > 19th century > Fiction.
Genre: Lesbian fiction.
Historical fiction.
Domestic fiction.

Available copies

  • 3 of 11 copies available at NC Cardinal.
  • 0 of 1 copy available at Madison County Public Library. (Show)

Holds

  • 6 current holds with 11 total copies.
Sort by distance from:
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Madison Main Library FIC STE (Text) 30229101394640 Adult New Fiction Checked out 08/22/2025
Benhaven Public Library F Ste (Text) 33630005476762 Adult Fiction In process -
Cumberland Headquarters F STEVENS (Text) 31781069653499 Adult Fiction Available -
Etowah Branch STE (Text) 33258035511715 Adult New Fiction Checked out 08/23/2025
Fletcher Branch STE (Text) 33258035511716 Adult New Fiction Checked out 08/23/2025
Henderson Main Branch STE (Text) 33258035511717 Adult New Fiction Checked out 08/23/2025
Lenoir Library F STEVENS Nell (Text) 50669013495834 Adult New Fiction Available -
Morganton Public Library F STE (Text) 33557004739009 Adult New Fiction Available -
North Asheville Library F STE (Text) 0020660497510 Adult New Fiction On holds shelf -
North Regional Library F STEVENS (Text) 31781069653481 Adult Fiction Checked out 08/30/2025

Loading Recommendations...

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520 . ‡aAn unwanted guest of her uncle's family since childhood, Grace has grown up on the periphery of a once-great household. She has unusual predilections: for painting, particularly forgery; for deception; for other girls. Her life is altered when a letter arrives from the South Atlantic. The writer claims to be her cousin Charles, long presumed dead at sea. When he returns, a rift emerges between family members who claim he is an imposter and Grace's aunt, who insists he is her son. Grace, whose intimate knowledge of fakes is her own closely guarded secret, is forced to decide who to believe and who to pretend to believe. In deciphering the truth about her cousin, she comes to understand other truths: how money is found and lost, and who deserves to be rich; what family means to queer people; and the value of authenticity, in art and in love.
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