This is one of those novels that you can't say too much about without spoiling everything, so I must tread very carefully. It concerns two Victorian girls, Susan and Maud, who grow up in very different circumstances, come together for a while, and then are separated again. Each starts out the story believing that her life is entirely out of her control, and each eventually learns that there is no one who can ever rescue you but yourself. 
 The plot is full of twists and turns, none of which I was able to guess before they happened, but I would have loved it even if it had just been a straightforward Victorian novel. Waters has a gift for using the language and trappings of the Victorian era without ever making her characters and their motivations seem quaint or alien to us. This book may have taken me a month to read, but it was worth it!