In a grand English country house in 1899, an aspiring art forger must unravel whether the man claiming to be her long-lost cousin is an impostor.Brought to her uncle's decaying Oxfordshire estate when she was a child, Grace has grown up on the periphery of a once-great household, an outsider in her own home. Now a self-possessed and secretive young woman, she has developed unusual predilections: for painting, particularly forgery; for deception; for other girls.As Grace cultivates her talent as a copyist, she realizes that her uncanny ability to recreate paintings might offer her a means of escape. Secretly, she puts this skill to use as an art forger, creating fake masterpieces in candlelit corners of the estate. Saving the money she makes from her sales, she plans a new life far from the family that has never seemed to want her.Then, a letter arrives from the South Atlantic. The writer claims to be her cousin Charles, long presumed dead at sea, who wishes to reconnect with his family. When Charles returns, Grace's aunt welcomes him with open arms; yet fractures appear in the household. Some believe he is who he says he is. Others are convinced he's an impostor. As a court date looms to determine his legitimacy―and his claim to the family fortune―Grace must decide what she believes, and what she's willing to risk.Is Charles really her cousin? An interloper? A mirror of her own ambitions? And in a house built on illusions, what does authenticity truly mean―in art, in love, and in family?Deftly plotted and shimmering with Nell Stevens's distinctive intelligence, style, and wit, The Original takes listeners on an unforgettable adventure through a world of forgeries, family ties, and the fluctuations in fortune that can change our fate. Open Credits
Prologue
Part One
The New Charles
What We Knew
The Three Graces
The Copyist
Some Truths About Copies
Putney
Inderwick Hall
A Brief Discourse On Madness
Copy Of A Self Portrait
Some Truths About Copyists
A Dinner In Honour Of Charles
Part Two
Copy Of Gustave Courbet
A Likeness
A Brief Discourse On Rose Madder
Copy Of A Likeness
Some Truths About Copies
Putney Again
Copy Of A Portrait Of Arthur Watts
Wealth
Fantasies
Part Three
Ashore
Green Hat
Allowances
Portrait Of A Man
Part Four
New Years Eve 1899
Fortunes
Copy Of Jan Van Eyck
The Opera Room
Some Truths About Copyists
Something Complex In The Glaze
A Brief Discourse On Caput Mortuum
Escape Plan
Part Five
Pater
Part Six
Trousseau
Copy Of Diego Velazquez
A Brief Discourse On Faces
Formalities
Part Seven
Charles The First
Charles The Second
Charles The Third
Epilogue
Some Truths About Copies
Close Credits
"Deliciously engaging and wildly intelligent. I adored this novel about art, authenticity, and desire."
"A sinuous, thrilling meditation on fakes and forgers, with echoes of Daphne du Maurier and Sarah Waters and an audacity that is totally original."
"The Original turns a tale of artistic copying into a thrilling study of class, ambition, and the ultimate confidence game: becoming oneself. Smart, sensual, and utterly mesmerizing."
"A delightful, playful puzzle of a novel and a brilliant twist on the nineteenth–century orphan–makes–good story. The Original asks whether, sometimes, faking it is the right thing to do."
