In the changing landscape of post-war England, a doctor named Faraday is summoned to the same 18th century mansion – Hundreds Hall – in which his mother once worked as a maid. If Dr Faraday has moved up the social ladder, the Ayers family, who live in Hundreds Hall, are grappling with the slow decay of not only their estate, but of their entire way of life.

Faraday becomes friendly with Caroline and Roderick Ayers and their mother, and gets entangled with the strange things that begin to happen at Hundreds. The family’s gentle dog suddenly and unexpectedly attacks the child of a couple who have come to visit the Ayers.

Roderick, who is scarred by his experiences of fighting in the war, begins to behave erratically. Writing starts to appear on the walls, and the maids hear summoning bells even though no one has pulled them.

While her brother and mother flounder, Caroline is left to deal with the uncanny events at Hundreds, while she and Faraday strike up an uneasy romance.

“It is gripping, confident, unnerving and supremely entertaining. And its mood lingers; in the 24 hours after finishing it, readers may hear, as I did, the whisper of its events bedding down into consciousness. Its allusions, its implications softly gather and fold themselves into the space in the mind that the book has made for itself, falling into place with a soft hiss, a rustle like phantom silks,” wrote Hilary Mantel in a review of Sarah Waters's novel.

Written by a master of historical fiction, The Little Stranger is a compelling and original take on the Gothic novel. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2009.

Published in 2009.