The Fraud Summary

The Fraud by Zadie Smith opens with Eliza Touchet getting married to a wealthy family. Eliza is a Scottish Catholic, and she is depicted as a religious woman. Eliza and her newly wedded husband are blessed with a baby boy. Eliza's husband falls in love with another younger woman and leaves her to fend for herself. Eliza's husband moves to another town with their son. Eliza's husband's brother, William, accommodates her. A few years later, Eliza learns that her husband and son have died.

Eliza lives with William's family and becomes friendly with his wife and children. William is a novelist, and Eliza encourages him to pursue his dreams of becoming a renowned author worldwide. Things start taking a drastic turn for Eliza when she falls in love with William, which creates a conflict between her and his wife. When William's wife discovers the affair between her husband and Eliza, she falls ill and dies. Eliza feels sad for the premature end of William's wife. William's daughters are devastated, but their father moves on fast because he is consumed with his writing career. Eliza does everything to support William and build his literary reputation. Unfortunately, William loses his wealth a few years after gaining a good reputation in the authorship industry.

When Eliza starts to age, William falls in love with his young house cleaner Sarah, and impregnates her. Sarah becomes William's wife. Sarah and Eliza become good friends, and they share a lot. Sarah loves following the speeches of Tichborne Claimant, a lower-class individual who claims to be Sir Rodger Tichborne. Sir Rodger was believed to have died in a Ship accident. The man claims he is Sir Rodger because he survived the accident but lost his memory while living in Australia. Later, the man regained his memory and returned to England to claim his wealth. However, upper-class people like Eliza do not believe Tichborne Claimant’s stories because they consider him a fraudster. However, lower-class people like Sarah believe everything Tichborne Claimant says.

Eliza is absorbed in Tichborne Claimant's story and decides to write a book titled The Fraud, using a masculine identity. Elizabeth requests an interview with Bogle, who gives her insights about Tichborne Claimant’s story. After a few years, Eliza finishes her book, and she publishes it. The novel ends with the death of William, and Eliza moans for several days because he loves her unconditionally.