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Fayne cover art

Fayne

Written by: Ann-Marie MacDonald
Narrated by: Ann-Marie MacDonald
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Publisher's Summary

THE INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A
GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF CBC’S BEST CANADIAN FICTION BOOKS OF 2022

A beloved writer returns with a tale of science, magic, love and identity.


In the late nineteenth century, Charlotte Bell is growing up at Fayne, a vast and lonely estate straddling the border between England and Scotland, where she has been kept from the world by her adoring father, Lord Henry Bell, owing to a mysterious condition. Charlotte, strong and insatiably curious, revels in the moorlands, and has learned the treacherous and healing ways of the bog from the old hired man, Byrn, whose own origins are shrouded in mystery. Her idyllic existence is shadowed by the magnificent portrait on the landing in Fayne House which depicts her mother, a beautiful Irish-American heiress, holding Charlotte’s brother, Charles Bell. Charlotte has grown up with the knowledge that her mother died in giving birth to her, and that her older brother, Charles, the long-awaited heir, died soon afterwards at the age of two. When Charlotte’s appetite for learning threatens to exceed the bounds of the estate, her father breaks with tradition and hires a tutor to teach his daughter “as you would my son, had I one.” But when Charlotte and her tutor’s explorations of the bog turn up an unexpected artefact, her father announces he has arranged for her to be cured of her condition, and her world is upended. Charlotte’s passion for knowledge and adventure will take her to the bottom of family secrets and to the heart of her own identity.

©2022 Ann-Marie MacDonald (P)2022 Knopf Canada

What the critics say

“A reinvention for the bestselling author. . . . MacDonald is wildly successful in creating a rich Victorian world as seen through a young person’s eyes. . . . With its tenderness and twists that recall Charles Dicken’s Bleak House and the upstairs-downstairs dynamics of shows like Downton Abbey, MacDonald’s fourth novel is a paean to the act of storytelling and a triumph that challenges the constructs of gender.” Quill and Quire (starred review)

"Engrossing, gorgeous, funny. . . . Fayne illuminates the experience of being queer before such things were discussed openly." The Globe and Mail

“Richly and minutely detailed . . . Fayne is . . . a subtle meditation on gender identity and environmental degradation that feels precisely attuned to the present. MacDonald’s work has always featured outcasts, and Fayne is her celebration of every marvelous living thing that flourishes on the margins, refusing to be categorized or controlled.” The Walrus

What listeners say about Fayne

Average Customer Ratings
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    4 out of 5 stars

Downton Abbey meets Washington Black

Too long in several places, but enjoyed over all. unfortunate lack of context regarding American Civil War.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing

Thank you Ann-Marie McDonald for your amazing narration and story. I loved every bit of it!

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  • Overall
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A great story!

This is just a really good story. I thought it
was a bit too fantastical at the end but overall great.

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Magical, Mysterious, Beautiful, Exquisite, Divine!

Unbelievable!!!! I was lost in a complete world of magical thinking, mystical realism, harrowing hope and despair. Highly recommend!

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  • VL
  • 2023-01-02

Well crafted story

I really enjoyed the originality of the story and am very impressed that the author performed it so well.

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Read immediately - Avoid reading spoilers

Brilliant narration by the author herself. So many twists and surprises that it merits being read without checking reviews and possible spoilers.

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Excellent

Very entertaining ing and satisfying. Ann-Marie MacDonald’s reading of it so skilled and clear in her characters.

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Excellent story,…The author gives lots of historical context.

The author writes beautifully and the story was excellent and exciting as it unfolded. At some point I wanted it to end because it was too long.

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Stunning, immersive, life affirming

A gorgeous, rewarding, life affirming story. It’s a slow build to a really exciting and beautiful payoff. Really stunning.

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Wholly satisfying!

nn-Marie McDonald has once again struck gold and delivered a rich historical tapestry full of drama, suspense, mystery and magic. Her character development is thorough and insightful and the story is at times amusing, gripping, tragic and even hilarious.

I was a little bored at the beginning of the book but then the author hanged a carrot before me which was just out of reach as it skipped to the next page right through to the end.

The author’s narration is superb. Not only does she have a beautiful voice but her acting skills and various accents make the story spring from the page.

I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a very long time.

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