The Little Stranger Summary
Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger Overview

In The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, the once rich and influential Ayers family, along with its family home Hundreds Hall, has fallen into poverty and disrepair following World War II. When Dr. Faraday was called to the estate to tend to a sick maid, he was shocked by the changes he saw in the house and grounds. The doctor had developed an obsession with the house thirty years prior when he visited there with his mother. Even as a young boy he admired the place so much that he cut a plaster acorn from a decorative wall as a keepsake. As Dr. Faraday’s relationship with the Ayers family deepened, the members of the family one by one fell prey to what they believed was a mysterious presence in the house, though each was officially diagnosed as being mentally ill. Themes in the novel include class differences, the impact of the war on the Ayers’ way of life, and mental illness.