One of the things I’ll say about The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins is that I think the way Collins writes is beautiful. I found myself underlining countless passages just because I thought they were so beautifully written if that makes sense.

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Summary

Set primarily in London in the 1820s, Collins’ novel is the story of Frannie Langton. Frannie was born a slave in Jamaica and was taken to London by her master (who, incidentally is also her father) and “given” to a friend/colleague. One day, Frannie awakens to find herself covered in blood. She had been sleeping next to the mistress of the house – who is dead. The master of the house? Also dead. The authorities quickly charge Frannie with their murder.

Frannie, meanwhile, claims to have no memory of the murder. However, Frannie claims she couldn’t have done it because she loved her mistress. Frannie still seems to be the most likely suspect. After all, she was found asleep next to one of the bodies.

The Confessions of Frannie Langton recounts Frannie’s life as a slave in Jamaica and the events that led to the death of her master and mistress.

Thoughts

You might see some marketing for The Confessions of Frannie Langton describing the book as a historical thriller. In her review of The Confessions of Frannie Langton, Rincey of Rincey Reads points out that this is not the best way of describing the book. And I agree with Rincey. While yes, Collins does weave elements of mystery and thriller into her novel, the focus is more on Frannie’s life than on the mystery. I hope that makes sense. 

A good chunk of The Confessions of Frannie Langton deals with Frannie’s life in Jamaica. I have some mixed feelings about this section of Collins’ book. On the one hand, I think it does a good job of setting up who Frannie is and what some of her motivations later in the book are. 

However, I also felt like the Jamaica portion of The Confessions of Frannie Langton dragged in bits and I’m wondering it would have been possible to shorten it a little bit. The TV adaptation of Collins’ novel cut out a lot of the Jamaica part of the story. While I realize books and TV are very different mediums and what works in one doesn’t necessarily work in the other, I thought the TV series benefitted from the reduced Jamaica portion of the story.

Going back to Rincey’s review, Rincey mentions that The Confessions of Frannie Langton reads kind of like a Sarah Waters novel in that Water’s books also tend to feel kind of slow in the beginning but then things start happening. I think Rincey is right about that one as well. I think that’s a compliment – I’ve enjoyed the works of Sarah Waters that I’ve read.

Some reviews of The Confessions of Frannie Langton criticize the believability of Frannie’s breadth of knowledge. Frannie was taught to read and some feel that when she learned to read she became unbelievably knowledgeable in multiple fields very quickly. I’m not sure I agree with this assessment. Yes, Frannie learned quite a bit from reading. Frannie was also forced to do some horrific things. I think that some of Frannie’s knowledge came from the fact that she (unfortunately) had first-hand experience in addition to the books that she read. There’s no doubt Frannie was very smart, but I’m don’t think she learned PhD level material at an exceptionally fast rate just by reading books. 

Strong emotions drive Frannie throughout Collins’ novel. Yes, hate was one of them. The hate was understandable considering Frannie’s experiences. Yet, despite everything, Frannie still had the capacity for love. And she kept loving. Even when it hurt.

You Might Like The Confessions of Frannie Langton If…

1️⃣ You’re a fan of Sarah Waters

2️⃣ You enjoy historical fiction, especially when it contains mystery, themes relating to race/racism, or lesbian romances.

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

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Updated: Mar 5, 2025 @ 12:41 am