The article presents an analysis of the implementation of the category of intertextuality in the novel «Affinity» (1999) by the British writer Sarah Ann Waters. The aim of the work was to trace how the intertextual dialogue with the Victorian literature contributes to the formation of the feminist issues of the work. It is revealed that the main pretexts when creating a novel for Waters were «Little Dorrit» by Charles John Huffam Dickens, «Aurora Leigh» by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, «The Turn of the Screw» by Henry James, and novels by William Wilkie Collins. «Affinity» has elements of Gothic narrative, a detective, a sensational novel, the Newgate novel, picaresque novel, contributing to the formation of women's issues. The dialogue with Victorianism allows Waters to raise issues of gender inequality in the past and present, the exploitation of women, and the rights of individuals to realise their sexual identity. For Waters, turning to Victorianism is a way to draw attention to issues that, according to the writer, are still topical in British culture, such as sexuality, class and gender.
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