Another incredible piece of writing by Nell Stevens - I've devoured every book she's written, and this was no different. If you're a fan of hers, you'll be so pleased with this newest work. If you're not, you're in for a real treat, because you get to read this, then go back and read everything else she's written for the first time.

I thought the premise was interesting, and the musings on copy and life was profound. The pace was kind of a barrier for me, and the ambiguity of certain characters and events didn't quite land, but overall there was some beautiful writing in this, and a main character that I enjoyed a lot.

Grace can’t recognize faces, but she can make perfect copies of paintings. Her cousin Charles disappeared for 13 years and is back to claim his inheritance, but he may be a forgery. And she may have the rightful claim to his inheritance if he is indeed not the original Charles.

The premise of this novel is highly captivating, with all the social sensibilities and Gothic flair of a Victorian novel along with a queer heroine and a delightfully intricate and suspenseful plot that kept me guessing until the very end. I loved this book the way I love the Brontës and Daphne du Maurier— it’s atmospheric, engrossing, full of dread and passion. The Original feels like a fully-fledged beloved classic that came out of nowhere.

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the opportunity to be an early reader of this title, available now!

If you like smart historical fiction that feels like you’re stepping through time, Nell Stevens is for you. The Original is a beautifully-written book about art, love, and queerness. There are no anachronistic characters here, but there is a beautifully rendered world and a delightful heroine you will cheer for. I loved this book!

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

In late 19th century England, Grace was sent to live with her aunt and uncle when her parents were committed to insane asylums. She is befriended by her cousin Charles, but he then leaves to go to sea and is gone 13 years when Grace and her aunt travel to Italy to find him and bring him back. But not everyone is convinced that this man is really Charles. Grace herself isn't sure because she's face blind and cannot recall anyone's face. But she does become expert in copying famous paintings and sets out to become financially independent by doing so.

The book explores the themes of what is an original and what is a copy by juxtaposing Grace's painting talent as a copyist and the question about the real Charles. In addition, we learn that both Grace and Charles are gay.

The book for the most part is well written and very imaginative. I did feel like it dragged in parts when the author went on and on about the thematic issues that didn't move the story forward.

I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley.

The Original by Nell Stevens is set at the end of the 19th century (largely in 1899) in the UK and a little bit in Chile and Italy. Grace is a young woman dependent on her uncle’s family. She’s a talented forger and knows that her options are limited to gain the kind of independence she wants. The reappearance of her long-missing cousin is the central mystery of the book, as everyone tries to establish whether he is genuinely who he says he is and thus the heir to family fortune. I was gripped by this book from the start and could barely put it down. It looks a lot at issues of family, obligation, identity, playing roles vs meeting expectations, queerness and art. Recommended for art and mystery fans, and this is definitely a book I’ll be picking up now that it’s out.

The Original is an exquisitely written queer, gothic tale, in the vein of Sarah Waters. When both of Grace's parents are sent to an asylum, she is sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Ultimately, however, Grace finds their home to be rather lacking in family feeling and the only connection she makes is with her cousin Charles.

There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of vagueness and misdirection coupled with a hefty dash of miscommunication, but ultimately, I think it pays off in the end. Nell Stevens in an inventive writer and this story felt truly original.

I absolutely loved The Original. It’s a beautifully layered novel that weaves queerness, art, and identity into a gothic-tinged mystery that never loses its emotional core. Stevens does something really special here - tying Grace’s work as a forger to her deeper questions about what’s real, what’s remembered, and what’s performative, both in art and in life. Grace’s inability to remember faces is such a poignant metaphor for disconnection and longing, and it parallels the tension around Charles - who he is, who he was, and who he becomes. Charles’s story is the heart of the book for me: haunting, tender, and deeply moving in how it explores queer experience and embodiment across time and space. There’s a quiet but powerful resonance in how Stevens draws parallels between copies, memory, gender, and the search for belonging. Every page feels carefully rendered, but never overworked. It’s sharp, intimate, and full of feeling - a standout read that lingers long after the last page.

I think the concept was good but the delivery was lacking.

We follow Grace, a young woman living in her aunt and uncle’s home in Victorian times after her parents are deemed insane. We simultaneously follow her mysterious cousin, Charles, who returns home after being presumed dead for 10 years. The family struggles to agree on whether this man is indeed Charles or an imposter.

The writing is good overall - I just wanted to like it more than I did.

A young girl practically orphaned, forced to live with family who don't want her, and trying to grapple with the realities of her own madness is faced with the return of her long-lost cousin and his supposed identity. She wants to build her own career as a copyist, making her own versions of masterpieces and so making her way in the world but hardly knows anything about the world away from the wealth she grew up in. An emotional, philosophical story of what it means to be "mad" and what it means to be "proper," this story is a compelling read. I would love more about her life.

<u><b>The Original</b></u>
Nell Stevens
Publication Date: July 1, 2025

ARC courtesy of W.W. Norton & Company and NetGalley.

Atmospheric queer novel of historical fiction with a gothic flair, set in an English country house in the late 19th century, The Original centers around art forger Grace and her long lost cousin, Charles, whose return raises suspicions of his being an impostor.

Blurbs about the book leave the impression that this is a mystery. It is, however, not plot driven, but is more a character driven novel exploring the themes of feminism and authenticity, not only in art but in being true to one’s self.

<i>The Original</i> is thought provoking, and well-written. It certainly would make for entertaining summer reading for those who prefer a more gothic novel written in the classic style.

The Original by Nell Stevens is a fascinating literary puzzle of a novel set in turn-of-the-century England, with Grace at the center of a family in decline, now contacted by her long-lost cousin - if he isn't an imposter trying to steal an inheritance, that is. Grace, herself interested in forgery and copies, is caught up in the family's debate over his identity and the truth. A tense, thoughtful piece of literary historical fiction, The Original is beautifully written with great imagery and mystery. Stevens uses this family drama, mystery, and art to examine authenticity and deception, money and class, as well as family and queer dynamics in Victorian England.

The prose here is beautiful, the premise interesting, and the ending really wonderful. However, I had a hard time finishing this because the middle felt so boring. I found Grace a frustratingly inactive protagonist, and wish we had spent more time with Charles.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is an intriguing novel about identity, wealth, and truth. The main female character, Grace, pretends to be someone she’s not, all while copying paintings and creating forgeries. Along with that, is Charles who he really says he is, or is he an imposter?

The artworks referenced have been chosen quite well, as their themes work in tandem with the story. I highly recommend searching for an image of each painting as it’s mentioned. It made the narrative much more meaningful for me.

This is not a fast-paced book, and it’s important to pay attention. There were a few times where I got a bit confused and had to go back and reread something from earlier in the story to make sure I was understanding correctly.

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book where the reader needs to set aside time to immerse in the slower story-telling. Art forgery, face blindness, and some existential questions thrown in!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

The Original is a different sort of suspense novel. Thoughtful and layered, with deliberate pacing, the novel follows protagonist Grace – an art forger, or copyist – as she navigates the return of her long-lost cousin, who has been gone for a decade and presumed dead.

Nothing is as it seems in this book, as Grace slowly discovers, and author Nell Stevens deftly explores themes one would not expect to find in a book that is billed as a historical mystery.

The title itself hints at this, as even from the blurb for the book one can recognize the fact that it could refer to Grace’s burgeoning career as an art forger, or the possibility that Cousin Charles, returned from his travels abroad, is not who he says he is. The concept of originality is explored at length in the book, most often by Grace herself as she contemplates her own talents, but also as it relates to human behavior.

Even more subtle, however, is her frequent rumination on what constitutes sanity versus madness, and who decides which is which, and why. The reader learns very early in the book that Grace comes to live with her aunt and uncle because her parents have been institutionalized, and as the story goes on it becomes quite clear that they are undoubtedly mad. What is also clear, however, is that they were loving and kind towards Grace. The casual cruelty her extended family (and nearly everyone in their employ or social circle), directs towards Grace, is, on the other hand, accepted as completely sane. Grace herself spends much of the book examining her own behavior to determine which of her own eccentricities may mean that she has inherited her parents’ madness, particularly as a child afflicted with face blindness who has no understanding of her own condition and, surrounded by those who are indifferent at best, worries that it could be the onset of her own insanity.

Her one ally as a child torn from all she knows and loves was her cousin Charles, and she begins her own investigation into the man claiming to be him even while taking her first steps toward independence as an art forger. It is the people she encounters along the way and the things she learns about Charles, and herself, that make Grace understand that she is not, after all, terribly odd, which prompts a great deal of musing, on Grace’s part, on the heretofore unknown merits of acceptance and belonging.

The chapters narrated from Charles’ point of view are all the more significant for their rarity, as the majority of the book is in Grace’s. But the transitions between the two are seamless, and Charles’ narrative, when it begins later in the book, adds nuance and clarity. I will say that revelations regarding Charles are really not all that revelatory, in the end, but considering the foreshadowing in the book I’d be surprised if they were intended to be. Also, while the characters are well developed, by design nearly all of them are unlikable.

When all is said and done, The Original isn’t so much a mystery as it is an exploration into human nature and the lies we tell ourselves. The suspense lay more in Grace’s evolution than in discovering the truth about Charles, and that mystery was far more compelling.

4.3⭐️

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary review.

Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres ever. Especially when they're this good. A captivating plot with superbly-realised characters merged into an enthralling novel with significant themes.

I devoured it in a day.

This is a unique book… it reads like a classic… slower pace… introspective writing. It was not what I was expecting nor what I typically gravitate to but it’s a book that classic lovers should put at the top of their TBR.

We follow Grace, a young woman living in her aunt and uncle’s home in Victorian times after her parents are deemed insane. We simultaneously follow her mysterious cousin, Charles, who returns home after being presumed dead for 10 years. The family struggles to agree on whether this man is indeed Charles or an imposter.

Grace is a unique main character. She is an artist, skilled at reproducing fakes of masterpieces but struggles with prosopagnosia (face blindness), making it hard for her to identify individuals in her own everyday life.

The book revolves around many big themes: art, forgery (of art and maybe of people too), belonging, perspective. It also revolves around key existential questions: What is sanity vs insanity? What is real vs fake?

I found the pace a bit too slow but at the same time, found the writing artful and purposeful. For example, the characters are a bit hard to identify with but I feel this was very intentional on the part of the author, to reinforce the themes and subjects of the book (sense of belonging, face blindness, forgery).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been proselytizing Nell Stevens’ first book, Briefly, A Delicious Life since it came out a few years ago. It’s one of my all-time favorites, the kind of book that’s always in the back of my mind, that I come back to all the time. So I was beyond excited to find out there’s a new Nell Stevens book coming out this summer! And it’s a total banger! I literally couldn’t put this book down. I thought about it constantly while I was reading it. If that’s not a recommendation, I don’t know what is.

The novel follows a young woman, Grace, who secretly becomes an incredible art forger. Just as she begins to use her talent professionally, a man shows up claiming to be her long-lost cousin—but Grace’s face-blindness makes it impossible for her to know whether he’s really her cousin or not. It’s a novel about fakes and copies and originality and the meaning of art and it has so many delicious layers to unwrap. It’s like F for Fake (1973) by way of Jane Eyre or O Caledonia. It’s thoughtful and haunting and beautifully written. A perfect gothic novel to add to your summer reading list!

“The moral of this story is: never underestimate the power of a generous woman.”
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“When I thought of women, the way I felt about women, I felt smooth, I felt certain. When I thought about husbands, I felt exhausted.”
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“When we fall in love with someone we begin to copy them.”
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In a grand English country house in 1899, an aspiring art forger must unravel whether a man’s claiming to be her long lost cousin is an imposter or not. It seems obvious right? Except Grace is bad with faces, she can copy a painting to accurate precision, but cannot copy real life, or remember what anyone looks like. After 13 years, and all male heirs dead, Charles comes home to claim the inheritance of the country house. One problem? Many people are speculating he is not who he says he is and others are saying yes of course that’s him are you mad?
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As the title of this book says, this story is a true original. Nell Stevens has such a way of writing that is so beautiful, poetic, and captivating. This is a story that will surely draw you in and make you question everything. I felt so invested in the characters and what their outcomes were going to be.
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This is not going to be for everyone however. It is a slow read and you won’t be ripping through the pages, but it is a methodical and immersive read. I’ll admit some parts drag and I felt bored some bits but overall I was just too enamored with this story I let that slide. Bonus points Grace and Charles are both gay (is that a spoiler? I don’t care I love it.)