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Original poster

Comp titles - a recent book similar to Tess of the d'Urbervilles anyone?

12 replies

BecauseOfIndia · 11/01/2023 17:53

I'm back in submission hell and have one lonely comp title that I use in my query letter. I want to send my ms to an agent who is asking for 3 comp titles (sigh) and so far I think I have two but I need a third that relates to misogyny and injustice in Victorian society . The only books I can think of are Tess of the d'Urbervilles or John Fowles' French Lieutenant's Woman, but both are too old. Has anyone got any ideas of a more modern novel? Any suggestions will be very gratefully received!

OP posts:
Shinytaps · 27/01/2023 22:48

The Crimson Petal and the White?

Original poster
BecauseOfIndia · 28/01/2023 09:15

@Shinytaps Thank you, someone suggested this to me on another forum but unfortunately it's too old - it was published over 20 years ago. Comp titles need to be within the last 5 years ideally I think to mean anything to agents.

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larkstar · 29/01/2023 01:36

A Thousand Acres www.goodreads.com/book/show/41193.A_Thousand_Acres

Jane Smiley (1991). This novel follows the story of a family in Iowa, where the patriarch decides to divide the family land among his three daughters. Like Tess of the d'Urbervilles, it explores themes of gender roles, power struggles, and class divisions in a rural setting.

larkstar · 29/01/2023 01:43

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 2020

www.goodreads.com/book/show/46138193-the-mercies

Grammarnut · 27/02/2023 08:16

larkstar · 29/01/2023 01:36

A Thousand Acres www.goodreads.com/book/show/41193.A_Thousand_Acres

Jane Smiley (1991). This novel follows the story of a family in Iowa, where the patriarch decides to divide the family land among his three daughters. Like Tess of the d'Urbervilles, it explores themes of gender roles, power struggles, and class divisions in a rural setting.

Sounds like King Lear.

AdamRyan · 27/02/2023 08:19

North and South by Margaret gaskell?

AdamRyan · 27/02/2023 08:20

Oops sorry got confused by the question

I just read "the vanishing" by Sophia tobin, I think that would fit the bill and its a quick read too

AdamRyan · 27/02/2023 08:21

The Vanishing g.co/kgs/5U7zbq

Original poster
BecauseOfIndia · 06/03/2023 09:19

@AdamRyan Thanks for the recommendation - it looks intriguing. I note that the publisher is using Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre as comp titles which is interesting, considering we are always being told comp titles should be recent!

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NormaJeanne · 07/03/2023 22:13

BecauseOfIndia · 06/03/2023 09:19

@AdamRyan Thanks for the recommendation - it looks intriguing. I note that the publisher is using Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre as comp titles which is interesting, considering we are always being told comp titles should be recent!

I know right?! Double standards abound! What about Lily by Rose Tremain (2021)? Or one of Laura Purcell's titles? The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal?

019203847user · 07/03/2023 22:47

Lily by Rose Tremain any good? It's a cracking read if you've not read it.

www.waterstones.com/book/lily/rose-tremain/9781529115178

Original poster
BecauseOfIndia · 09/03/2023 10:17

Thanks to @NormaJeanne and @019203847user for the Rose Tremain recommendation, I've never read anything by her but this looks really good.

Not keen on Laura Purcell / Elizabeth Macneal, I know they were big sellers but to me both totally unreadable. I hate that 'faux Victoriania' so many books seem to peddle these days, with 'Victorian Gothic' being the worst! I'm looking for something that doesn't seek to glamourise life in that time.

Going back to Publishers and comps, I saw a book reveal on Twitter recently in which they were claiming it was 'the new Wuthering Heights', all because it was set in Yorkshire in the 19th Century. Totally missing the point of what makes WH so wonderful - the gorgeous poetic prose!

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