How do I be a lesbian, and a writer, at the same time? Today we meet Kim van Alkemade and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Kim is the author of the novels Orphan 8, Bachelor Girl, and Counting Lost Stars. Her forthcoming novel Upstate comes out October 27. Her books have been translated into eleven languages. After a career teaching writing at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, she now works at aån independent bookstore in Saratoga Springs, New York, where she lives with her partner, their rescue dog, and two feisty backyard chickens. In Fingersmith, Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer," who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals. Sarah Waters is the author of several novels, including the New York Times–bestselling The Paying Guests. She has been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize three times. Granta named her of their best young British novelists. She lives in London. Connect with Kim website: kimvanalkemade.com threads: @kimvanalkemade instagram: @kimvanalkemade facebook: @kimvanalkemade Our Bookshop Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook Buy your copy of Fingersmith here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781573229722 Buy your copy of Upstate here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780063438033 Become an Associate Producer! Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook Credits Host/Founder: John Parker Executive Producer: Jim Pounds Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, Sean Smith, and Karsten Vagner Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard. Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson Quatrefoil Library Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1 Real quick: yes, you too can be a guest on our podcast! If you have a queer book that had a life-saving impact for you, then please visit thisqueerbook.com and fill out the form on the homepage! Looking forward to hearing back from you! Support the show
