Zadie Smith’s new novel is a work of historical fiction centered around an English trial in 1873. The case, which actually occurred, involves a man who claims that he is a missing aristocrat who was ship wrecked and then lived in Australia for many years. The other main characters in Fraud are Eliza Touchet a women who appears prim and proper but is anything but. Her lover is her cousin, William Ainsworth, a mediocre author. Andrew Bogle, a Black man and former slave who is a key witness at the trial, is the main reason Eliza is fascinated by the daily happenings at the trial.

I found Fraud disappointing. The descriptions of the trial and the characters involved made me eager to read Fraud. However, Smith’s novel keeps jumping around in time and setting, making it confusing and frustrating.