It is 1873。 Mrs。 Eliza Touchet is the Scottish housekeeper—and cousin by marriage—of a once-famous novelist， now in decline， William Ainsworth， with whom she has lived for thirty years。

Mrs。 Touchet is a woman of many interests: literature， justice， abolitionism， class， her cousin， his wives， this life and the next。 But she is also sceptical。 She suspects her cousin of having no talent; his successful friend， Mr。 Charles Dickens， of being a bully and a moralist; and England of being a land of facades， in which nothing is quite what it seems。

Andrew Bogle， meanwhile， grew up enslaved on the Hope Plantation， Jamaica。 He knows every lump of sugar comes at a human cost。 That the rich deceive the poor。 And that people are more easily manipulated than they realize。 When Bogle finds himself in London， star witness in a celebrated case of imposture， he knows his future depends on telling the right story。

The “Tichborne Trial”—wherein a lower-class butcher from Australia claimed he was in fact the rightful heir of a sizable estate and title—captivates Mrs。 Touchet and all of England。 Is Sir Roger Tichborne really who he says he is？ Or is he a fraud？ Mrs。 Touchet is a woman of the world。 Mr。 Bogle is no fool。 But in a world of hypocrisy and self-deception， deciding what is real proves a complicated task。 。 。 。

Based on real historical events， The Fraud is a dazzling novel about truth and fiction， Jamaica and Britain， fraudulence and authenticity and the mystery of “other people。”