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The Mistress of Nothing
The American debut of an award-winning novel about a lady's maid's awakening as she journeys from the confines of Victorian England to the uncharted far reaches of Egypt's Nile Valley.
When Lady Duff Gordon, paragon of London society, departs for the hot, dry climate of Egypt to seek relief from her debilitating tuberculosis, her lady's maid, Sally, doesn't hesitate to leave the only world she has known in order to remain at her mistress's side. As Sally gets farther and farther from home, she experiences freedoms she has never known-forgoing corsets and wearing native dress, learning Arabic, and having her first taste of romance.
But freedom is a luxury that a lady's maid can ill afford, and when Sally's newfound passion for life causes her to forget what she is entitled to, she is brutally reminded she is mistress of nothing. Ultimately she must choose her master and a way back home-or a way to an unknown future.
Based on the real lives of Lady Duff Gordon and her maid, The Mistress of Nothing is a lush, erotic, and compelling story about the power of race, class, and love.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published July 9, 2009
About the author
Kate Pullinger
42 books79 followersKate Pullinger is an award-winning writer of novels, short stories and digital works. Her most recent book is FOREST GREEN, out in Canada in August 2020. She is Professor of Creative Writing and Digital Media at Bath Spa University.
Born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Kate dropped out of McGill University after a year and a half of not studying philosophy and literature. She then spent a year working in a copper mine in the Yukon where she crushed rocks and saved money. She spent that money travelling and ended up in London, England, where she lives with her husband and two children.
Kate’s other books include The Mistress of Nothing, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction 2009, Landing Gear, A Little Stranger and The Last Time I Saw Jane, as well as the ghost tale, Weird Sister, and the erotic feminist vampire novel Where Does Kissing End? These four titles have recently been re-released in new ebook editions.
Kate’s digital works include Inanimate Alice (www.inanimatealice.com), an episodic online multimedia novel and Flight Paths: A Networked Novel (www.flightpaths.net)
You can find out more about Kate and her work at www.katepullinger.com
Born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Kate dropped out of McGill University after a year and a half of not studying philosophy and literature. She then spent a year working in a copper mine in the Yukon where she crushed rocks and saved money. She spent that money travelling and ended up in London, England, where she lives with her husband and two children.
Kate’s other books include The Mistress of Nothing, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction 2009, Landing Gear, A Little Stranger and The Last Time I Saw Jane, as well as the ghost tale, Weird Sister, and the erotic feminist vampire novel Where Does Kissing End? These four titles have recently been re-released in new ebook editions.
Kate’s digital works include Inanimate Alice (www.inanimatealice.com), an episodic online multimedia novel and Flight Paths: A Networked Novel (www.flightpaths.net)
You can find out more about Kate and her work at www.katepullinger.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 653 reviews
June 4, 2010
This is a fabulous book. I read it in one sitting and must say that Pullinger manages to keep you interested in a domestic story of manners for the entire length. It is a very interesting insight into Victorian mores and make me wonder at whether the role between domestic staff and their employers has changed much. The presumptions which dominate the relationship between Lady Duff and her lady's made, Sally, are fascinating. The fact that the mistress treats everyone as if it is a privilege to work for her and often forgets what a hardship it might be for them is incredible (it is clear that due her own reduced circumstances she is often unable to pay Sally and Omar and that they make personal sacrifices - going without food themselves - to be sure that she does not do without). Her own intellectual pursuits and passions - universal suffrage being one while in England and human rights for the Egyptians - do not seem to be applied to those in her closest circle and it never seems to occur to her how similar and arbitrary her own actions are towards those she has power over. This is also a subtle and masterful portrait of the manipulative world view of a long-time invalid. I would highly recommend this book.
November 6, 2011
I was exceptionally disappointed with this book; I was reading an Advanced Reader's Edition, so perhaps the official release is better. However, I doubt that the sheer underwhelming nature of this book would have been revised.
For a travel/adventure story, particularly one that is meant to emulate a Victorian expedition to Egypt, I found the narrative to be extremely lacking in the sensory detail and vivid description that I craved. The most sensuous Pullinger's language got was to state the obvious and describe how 'hot' it was in Africa. The broken Arabic strewn throughout did less to garnish the book with atmosphere and more to give it the feel of a reading exercise for a foreign language class. The book felt all together rushed without these details, yet simultaneously the actual narrative dragged and dragged considerably. I succumbed easy to distraction while reading this. There was also some anachronistic language, and a mere spattering of vaguely relevant allusions and famous figureheads throughout the beginning of the novel (which left me quite curious as to why some appropriate allusions were ignored). Nothing felt particularly Victorian or English, nor did anything feel particularly Egyptian.
The didactic first chapter of Sally's reflection excited me at the prospect of examining the sociological implications of class (and subsequently race) throughout the text; but most of these were inserted at the last possible moment in the latter chapters of the book, leaving the reader with considerable ambiguity prior to these . Other inconsistencies (such as name references and in-frame recollections) stand out, as well.
I genuinely wanted to enjoy this; but I felt that what there was to enjoy was scant and undefined. No significant character development happens until the latter half of the novel, and even then all of the characters are fairly weak and fractured without much emotional investment in any of the dramatic events. There was very little room to sympathize with Sally and her situation in spite of it being the default setting, since Omar's wife, Omar and Lady Duff Gordon were portrayed in the darkest shadows suddenly after standing under the hottest spotlights. I was astonished to read that this book has received accolades for having "one of the most distinctive and memorable voices in recent literature," as even though the entire book was from her perspective, I ended without really knowing who Sally was or why her story particularly mattered.
For a travel/adventure story, particularly one that is meant to emulate a Victorian expedition to Egypt, I found the narrative to be extremely lacking in the sensory detail and vivid description that I craved. The most sensuous Pullinger's language got was to state the obvious and describe how 'hot' it was in Africa. The broken Arabic strewn throughout did less to garnish the book with atmosphere and more to give it the feel of a reading exercise for a foreign language class. The book felt all together rushed without these details, yet simultaneously the actual narrative dragged and dragged considerably. I succumbed easy to distraction while reading this. There was also some anachronistic language, and a mere spattering of vaguely relevant allusions and famous figureheads throughout the beginning of the novel (which left me quite curious as to why some appropriate allusions were ignored). Nothing felt particularly Victorian or English, nor did anything feel particularly Egyptian.
The didactic first chapter of Sally's reflection excited me at the prospect of examining the sociological implications of class (and subsequently race) throughout the text; but most of these were inserted at the last possible moment in the latter chapters of the book, leaving the reader with considerable ambiguity prior to these . Other inconsistencies (such as name references and in-frame recollections) stand out, as well.
I genuinely wanted to enjoy this; but I felt that what there was to enjoy was scant and undefined. No significant character development happens until the latter half of the novel, and even then all of the characters are fairly weak and fractured without much emotional investment in any of the dramatic events. There was very little room to sympathize with Sally and her situation in spite of it being the default setting, since Omar's wife, Omar and Lady Duff Gordon were portrayed in the darkest shadows suddenly after standing under the hottest spotlights. I was astonished to read that this book has received accolades for having "one of the most distinctive and memorable voices in recent literature," as even though the entire book was from her perspective, I ended without really knowing who Sally was or why her story particularly mattered.
January 12, 2013
i honestly have NO idea why this doesn't get better reviews around here. it is fantastic! perhaps it's a bit too literary for the average goodreader? not by much, though, and the prose is gorgeous. i stayed up late to finish it.
pg13 for unmarried relations of the *fade to black* type, illness, war/rebellion/suffering, and perhaps an epithet or two.
pg13 for unmarried relations of the *fade to black* type, illness, war/rebellion/suffering, and perhaps an epithet or two.
May 3, 2018
I am ambivalent about this book. I skimmed my way through most of the book.
February 4, 2017
I am procrastinating on starting this review, because it's one of those books I struggle to write about. If there's lots to love, I am effusive. If there's lots to hate, I rant. Then there are those books that are just fine, but that's all they seem to be, and you try to sit down to find enough words to make up a review worth writing, and they prove to be elusive little buggers.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
January 22, 2010
I'm not generally one for historical fiction but I really loved this book. It won the 2009 Governor General's award for fiction, which is well deserved. It tells the story of real life Victorian English adventurer, Lucie Duff Gordon, who went to live in Egypt for numerous years along with her maid, Sally Nardett. The book is told from Sally's point of view.
The story is deceptively simple, but there's a lot in here, and it's a nuanced story with multiple themes. It appears straight forward, but when you go into the story you get greater implications.
Highly recommended!
The story is deceptively simple, but there's a lot in here, and it's a nuanced story with multiple themes. It appears straight forward, but when you go into the story you get greater implications.
Highly recommended!
June 13, 2011
At first I was a little taken aback that this book was not written in the voice of Lady Duff Gordon, on whose letters this novel was based. I thought I might prefer the voice of the woman whose entrance into a room made the party brighter, suddenly more fashionable, very au courant. Lady Duff Gordon suffered from a malady of the lungs, which required a warm, dry climate rather than that of England at the turn of the 20th century. She left her family and moved to Egypt with her lady’s maid and spent the bulk of her time in Luxor, home of the tombs of the pharaohs and the Sphinx. She enjoyed a wide circle of friends among the local intelligentsia.
Little was recorded of her lady’s maid, Sally Naldrett, but this is a book told in her voice—how first Lady Gordon shed her English clothing and mannerisms, and then Sally did. How they both became acclimatized to life in Egypt, learned Arabic, and how Sally felt she had shed her old, lonely maid’s life for a life both warm and passionate. How she outgrew her position of servility alone, and became a woman on her own terms. The story is lightly and quickly told, but develops an urgency in its later pages that belies the sunny outlook of its beginning.
In writing this novel, Kate Pullinger drew on biography of Gordon written by Katherine Frank, called Lucie Duff Gordon: A Passage to Egypt, published in 1995. It was republished in 2007 by Tauris Parke Paperbacks and is said to show the sparkling nature of the vivacious Lady Gordon. A darker side of that character is hinted at in this novel, leaving lingering questions about a widely admired woman whose family shunned her, and who shunned others, brutally and unforgivably, in return. One is eager to turn to the original materials to get to the heart of the matter. One feels sure there is still a novel in the material there, this time from the view of Lady Duff Gordon (1821-1869), whom even the Prince and Princess of Wales came to visit in Luxor when she was too ill to travel.
This is a small, pocket-sized book which can transport you to places far off and long ago, and for that, it is amply worth the time and expense of acquiring it. Later, when I was looking through Kate Pullinger's website, I came across a blogpost speaking of Ellen, Sally Naldrett's sister, who makes an appearance in the book. It gives one tingles to think that rich lives went unrecorded and unremembered until now.
Little was recorded of her lady’s maid, Sally Naldrett, but this is a book told in her voice—how first Lady Gordon shed her English clothing and mannerisms, and then Sally did. How they both became acclimatized to life in Egypt, learned Arabic, and how Sally felt she had shed her old, lonely maid’s life for a life both warm and passionate. How she outgrew her position of servility alone, and became a woman on her own terms. The story is lightly and quickly told, but develops an urgency in its later pages that belies the sunny outlook of its beginning.
In writing this novel, Kate Pullinger drew on biography of Gordon written by Katherine Frank, called Lucie Duff Gordon: A Passage to Egypt, published in 1995. It was republished in 2007 by Tauris Parke Paperbacks and is said to show the sparkling nature of the vivacious Lady Gordon. A darker side of that character is hinted at in this novel, leaving lingering questions about a widely admired woman whose family shunned her, and who shunned others, brutally and unforgivably, in return. One is eager to turn to the original materials to get to the heart of the matter. One feels sure there is still a novel in the material there, this time from the view of Lady Duff Gordon (1821-1869), whom even the Prince and Princess of Wales came to visit in Luxor when she was too ill to travel.
This is a small, pocket-sized book which can transport you to places far off and long ago, and for that, it is amply worth the time and expense of acquiring it. Later, when I was looking through Kate Pullinger's website, I came across a blogpost speaking of Ellen, Sally Naldrett's sister, who makes an appearance in the book. It gives one tingles to think that rich lives went unrecorded and unremembered until now.
April 3, 2012
The first few chapters, even the first half, of this book is pretty good, and held my interest. Pullinger's rendering of Sally's voice is intriguing, and Pullinger masterfully builds suspense, a sense of impending catastrophe. But I was very disappointed with the second half. (Spoiler!) Pullinger's first mistake, I think, was not having us present at the birth of Sally's baby, not letting us see Lady Duff Gordon as she is confronted with the situation. And from this point, once Sally has had the baby, the book sort of falls apart. We simply don't have any sense of why Lady Duff Gordon has reacted the way she has. My guess is that Pullinger doesn't know. She seems to think that because this is based on a true story, she needn't render Gordon's actions in a way that makes sense to us -- it happened this way, right? -- with the end result that we get no further insight, to much of anything. Pullinger hardly explores this apparent contradiction in Gordon's character and she asserts Omar's motivation rather than show it. I completely lost interest by the last third; I skimmed the pages only to find out what happened, at the end. (Which is isn't much.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2019
4.5 stars. Couldn't put it down...a very evocative mood and story and a heroine to root for.
June 3, 2011
I did not realize this was based on a true story until I read the author note at the back of the book. Somehow, that let me give it the extra star. I liked this book very much, but found it nearly unbearably sad in parts. I have recently read several books where the main character is rather slow to understand the world around them and the consequences of their actions. So I was annoyed that was the case again and I held a grudge while reading.
Still, it was compelling--the idea of English woman living in Egypt, learning Arabic, wearing Egyptian clothing, etc was beautifully detailed and fully drawn. Ms. Pullinger is a good writer, giving the reader the sense of being there, feeling the heat, the sand, etc. (Of course it was crazy hot last week in NJ, so maybe that played a part in feeling the heat). I felt the story was rushed at the end--probably more a function of editing than writing. The pace of the first section was so wonderfully slow and detailed. I wish the entire book had been.
It stays with me even a week later--I find myself considering Sally and the choices she made. That is the mark of a 4 star book and I am glad that I was able to reward that extra star in the end...
Still, it was compelling--the idea of English woman living in Egypt, learning Arabic, wearing Egyptian clothing, etc was beautifully detailed and fully drawn. Ms. Pullinger is a good writer, giving the reader the sense of being there, feeling the heat, the sand, etc. (Of course it was crazy hot last week in NJ, so maybe that played a part in feeling the heat). I felt the story was rushed at the end--probably more a function of editing than writing. The pace of the first section was so wonderfully slow and detailed. I wish the entire book had been.
It stays with me even a week later--I find myself considering Sally and the choices she made. That is the mark of a 4 star book and I am glad that I was able to reward that extra star in the end...
January 23, 2011
The Mistress of Nothing takes it's start from real life. Lady Lucie Duff Gordon wrote her famous Letters from Egypt in the 1860's after being forced to go there from her home in England because of consumption. Although Gordon was a famous entertainer and trendsetter in England she was not rich. So when she was forced to leave her family and go away for her health she was only able to bring one maid along with her, Sally Naldrett. Once in Egypt both women go native. They abandon their Victorian expectations and the social conventions of their times. For the first time in their lives they experience freedom of mind and body. The two also become friends rather then mistress and servant. They learn Arabic, dress in traditional Egyptian clothing and are accepted and welcomed into the local Egyptian community.
The working life of Sally Naldrett put her in a position to contribute to literature and history and yet she remained far away on the outskirts of both. It was clever of Pullinger to use a peripheral person in the life of a well known one as the conduit for the story of the celebrity and for their hypocrisy.
In The Mistress of Nothing, Pullinger does a very good job recreating Egypt in the 1860's. It's a fascinating look at a native culture outside of the colonial system of the time. The novel hums along interestingly covering Egypt, medicine and the relationships between Sally, Gordon and their local dragoman, Omar, until it gets to Sally's crisis. Just when the conflict in this story truly begins, the drama ends. Overall The Mistress of Nothing was a disappointment. The only surprise for me was that the book was the winner of Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award in 2009.
The working life of Sally Naldrett put her in a position to contribute to literature and history and yet she remained far away on the outskirts of both. It was clever of Pullinger to use a peripheral person in the life of a well known one as the conduit for the story of the celebrity and for their hypocrisy.
In The Mistress of Nothing, Pullinger does a very good job recreating Egypt in the 1860's. It's a fascinating look at a native culture outside of the colonial system of the time. The novel hums along interestingly covering Egypt, medicine and the relationships between Sally, Gordon and their local dragoman, Omar, until it gets to Sally's crisis. Just when the conflict in this story truly begins, the drama ends. Overall The Mistress of Nothing was a disappointment. The only surprise for me was that the book was the winner of Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award in 2009.
April 7, 2017
This book was amazing! It was a quick read at 249 pages, but mostly because I couldn't put it down. I ended up reading the whole thing on a Saturday afternoon. I loved everything about it, I don't like to put spoilers in my reviews so you will have to read it to find out the details as to why. The main character had me by the heart-strings the whole book. This book was amazingly well written, although it did take me a chapter or two to get use to the author's writing style. I enjoyed being taken to Egypt and learning about the culture, as I had never read a book featuring this location. I would highly recommend to anyone that loves historical fiction.
June 19, 2023
After listening to this for half an hour, I decided it wasn't for me.
Audiobook
Rosalyn Landor - Narrator
Duration: 08:43:26
Audiobook
Rosalyn Landor - Narrator
Duration: 08:43:26
August 29, 2024
Maybe it's just me (admittedly, I've had a touch reading year), but this was boring! And the writing was so simplistic and repetitive, I almost gave up. Took me forever to finish and there's nothing I'd be missing if I'd given up.
June 12, 2011
At first I was a little taken aback that this book was not written in the voice of Lady Duff Gordon, on whose letters this novel was based. I thought I might prefer the voice of the woman whose entrance into a room made the party brighter, suddenly more fashionable, very au courant. Lady Duff Gordon suffered from a malady of the lungs, which required a warm, dry climate rather than that of England at the turn of the 20th century. She left her family and moved to Egypt with her ladies’ maid and spent the bulk of her time in Luxor, home of the tombs of the pharaohs and the Sphinx. She enjoyed a wide circle of friends among the local intelligentsia.
Little was recorded of her ladies’ maid, Sally Naldrett, but this is a book told in her voice—how first Lady Gordon shed her English clothing and mannerisms, and then Sally did. How they both became acclimatized to life in Egypt, learned Arabic, and how Sally felt she had shed her old, lonely maid’s life for a life both warm and passionate. How she outgrew her position of servility alone, and became a woman on her own terms. The story is lightly and quickly told, but develops an urgency in its later pages that belies the sunny outlook of its beginning.
In writing this novel, Kate Pullinger drew on biography of Gordon written by Katherine Frank, called Lucie Duff Gordon: A Passage to Egypt, published in 1995. It was republished in 2007 by Tauris Parke Paperbacks and is said to show the sparkling nature of the vivacious Lady Gordon. A darker side of that character is hinted at in this novel, leaving lingering questions about a widely admired woman whose family shunned her, and who shunned others, brutally and unforgivably, in return. One is eager to turn to the original materials to get to the heart of the matter. One feels sure there is still a novel in the material there, this time from the view of Lady Duff Gordon (1821-1869), whom even the Prince and Princess of Wales came to visit in Luxor when she was too ill to travel.
This is a small, pocket-sized book that will reliably transport you to shores unknown. For the investment (e.g., time, money), this is well worth the dreaming.
Little was recorded of her ladies’ maid, Sally Naldrett, but this is a book told in her voice—how first Lady Gordon shed her English clothing and mannerisms, and then Sally did. How they both became acclimatized to life in Egypt, learned Arabic, and how Sally felt she had shed her old, lonely maid’s life for a life both warm and passionate. How she outgrew her position of servility alone, and became a woman on her own terms. The story is lightly and quickly told, but develops an urgency in its later pages that belies the sunny outlook of its beginning.
In writing this novel, Kate Pullinger drew on biography of Gordon written by Katherine Frank, called Lucie Duff Gordon: A Passage to Egypt, published in 1995. It was republished in 2007 by Tauris Parke Paperbacks and is said to show the sparkling nature of the vivacious Lady Gordon. A darker side of that character is hinted at in this novel, leaving lingering questions about a widely admired woman whose family shunned her, and who shunned others, brutally and unforgivably, in return. One is eager to turn to the original materials to get to the heart of the matter. One feels sure there is still a novel in the material there, this time from the view of Lady Duff Gordon (1821-1869), whom even the Prince and Princess of Wales came to visit in Luxor when she was too ill to travel.
This is a small, pocket-sized book that will reliably transport you to shores unknown. For the investment (e.g., time, money), this is well worth the dreaming.
November 8, 2012
The book sounds so promising at the start. I was intensely interested at first, but dissolved into indifference and finally even annoyance. Based on the real historical figure of one Lady Lucie Duff-Gordon (1821-1869), an English woman self-exiled to Egypt due to incurable illness (TB). Staying in England would only hasten her demise. So she took her long-time lady's maid Sally Naldrett with her to hopefully salvage some remaining quality days. She survived seven years in Egypt. From Luxor she had written a series of letters over those years, mailing them back to England to her family. The letters were later published as a book. Her story is based on historical facts. Her maid Sally was also a real-life character. But what happened to her during those years is totally up to the author's own imagination.
Sally falls in love with an Egyptian servant Omar who works as a cook and a butler for the Lady. The lovers lead a secret love life without the detection of anyone. Sally later is pregnant with Omar's child. They later marry and she continues with her pregnancy in Lady Duff-Gordon's home. The fact that Sally carries the child until delivery without anybody noticing, especially not her lady, is a quite beyond comprehension. What more, Lady Duff Gordon's reaction to her is unconvincing as well. Known for her benevolence to the Egyptian people, and a progressive woman resisting any totalitarian powers, Lady Duff-Gordon somehow is so seized with rage that she drives Sally away from her home. And yet she keeps Omar close to her to continue as her trusted and faithful servant.
Lots of potentials to depict in a nuanced and deeper way the power relations (like e.g. Girl with a Pearl Earring) and cultural and personal conflicts remain untapped. Well, maybe not exactly untapped. Rather, the narration is straight forward and lacks depth. All feelings and thoughts are laid out explicitly, leaving the readers with very little room for their own imagination, and too scanty an offering of literary enjoyment. Winner of the GG? I'm truly baffled.
Sally falls in love with an Egyptian servant Omar who works as a cook and a butler for the Lady. The lovers lead a secret love life without the detection of anyone. Sally later is pregnant with Omar's child. They later marry and she continues with her pregnancy in Lady Duff-Gordon's home. The fact that Sally carries the child until delivery without anybody noticing, especially not her lady, is a quite beyond comprehension. What more, Lady Duff Gordon's reaction to her is unconvincing as well. Known for her benevolence to the Egyptian people, and a progressive woman resisting any totalitarian powers, Lady Duff-Gordon somehow is so seized with rage that she drives Sally away from her home. And yet she keeps Omar close to her to continue as her trusted and faithful servant.
Lots of potentials to depict in a nuanced and deeper way the power relations (like e.g. Girl with a Pearl Earring) and cultural and personal conflicts remain untapped. Well, maybe not exactly untapped. Rather, the narration is straight forward and lacks depth. All feelings and thoughts are laid out explicitly, leaving the readers with very little room for their own imagination, and too scanty an offering of literary enjoyment. Winner of the GG? I'm truly baffled.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2012
I was quickly drawn into this story based on the life of Lucie Duff Gordon. This unusual, progressive woman, whose life is greatly affected by TB, left her family to live in Egypt in the hope of healing in the warm climate. The story takes place in the mid 1800s. Her only companion for the voyage is her maid, Sally, who is herself unusual given her station in life. Drawing from Duff Gordon's letters, the author describes vividly what the two women experience on the journey both in terms of the country and people they discover but also about themselves. I enjoyed very much that part of the book, the voyage down the Nile, the heat, the village life, etc. Where I lost interest is when Pullinger, no longer using the material from the letters, tells the story of Sally -who is the narrator- once they are settled in Luxor. Sally looses her appeal as an interesting character and becomes uni-dimensional. The curious, adventurous Sally does not feel credible or perhaps, all along, she was not who she seemed to be.
November 23, 2015
Abandoned by Lady Duff Gordon, a progressive woman who challenges the roles of women, because Sally has defied her, has done the unthinkable. The Lady becomes small minded, uncompromising, and Sally is catapulted into the world, becomes stronger in the face of the world, because of her love for Omar (waxing) and the love of her son (waning). There is not enough of this for her though. Men are still in charge, and her Lady is complicit. However, it does not last But I remember. My Aunt Joyce asking in some restaurant down East when I was 10 or 11 (a budding feminist) if I (or the females at the table--just me and my mother?) preferred men's company to women's, and I said women, and she agreed. Unprecedented. What did my mother say? No recollection.
"And so it happened: I left the world of Lady Duff Gordon, surrounded by men, with men as our companions, our servants, our teachers, our friends, and I entered the realm of women for that journey, where men, except our children, those much-loved boys, scarcely existed. The boat steamed down the Nile, at a steady, even pace, not subject to wind or calm as a dahabieh would have been, and my days aboard were a kind of blessed reprieve, though I did not realise this at the time."
I did not recall any of the nursery rhymes I did during my Babytimes except for those that were well known. Did my mother ever sing me lullabies? Did she ever read fairy tales? I asked her once about fairy tales and she spoke with such derision, as though it was child abuse, as though it was something a good parent would never do. "No, of course not," she spat. I told my aunt who loved the stories and understood and accepted me, even though I did not seek her out near enough. She loved the stories. She would have read them to me; she would have sung and chanted nursery rhymes to me. She would have brought me spirituality and maybe helped save me. Guilt and laziness and then it was too late.
"Those lullabies -- they surprised me. It was as if they'd lived inside me all these years and now they were emerging. I found I had a small store of them, and they were not the same as those I had heard my Lady sing to her children, they were not the same as those I had heard other women sing to their babies; they were songs my own mother had sung to me, my mother, long dead, faded in my memory, but fresh to me once again through these songs, through the way I found myself loving and caring for my child, my own mother, reembodied."
A sparseness of prose, and yet so much is evoked.
"I screamed the night Abdullah was born; I made more noise that one night than I had during the whole of the rest of my life put together. But after that, I fell into silence. And that silence deepened and darkened and grew heavier and thicker, until my days were as dark and silent as my nights."
Pullinger also writes love and desire and awakening with great beauty and gentleness. And enough is said.
"...He was wonderful to look at; I had never thought that a man -- a man's body -- could be a thing of such dream-filled beauty. Then he drew me down beside him on his sleeping mat and we began. We began and we began and we began and it was perfect. I had not known it could be so perfect.
My Lady had come to Egypt to evade death, but in Egypt I found life."
The ancient world of Egypt, the knowledge of all that they have, from where they came, their connection to their ancestors. It makes it doubly (and more) horrible that their antiquities have been stolen by thieves (others but also Egyptian), by cultures (England), and more.
"...Now that we had been in the country for more than half a year, I felt I should be accustomed to its beauty and its mysteries, but I was not, nor would I ever be. The Egyptian people live among the ruins of their former selves and they accept as given the strange and monumental remnants of their past. A whole valley, hight up in the hills, where the tombs of kings and queens have been carved deep underground into the stone, filled with treasure, then opened and plundered and sealed and reopened and plundered yet again. ..."
Also beautiful, and insightful, and inspirational. Pullinger is an amazing writer.
"I was surprised by this transformation, this redirection of my gaze, surprise to find myself abandoning my amateur study of Isis..."
This is a question that can be asked over and over, as we recreate ourselves all throughout our lives. Beautiful, insightful, well expressed, gorgeous prose.
"What happens when you leave everything behind? When you leave everything familiar, not just houses and streets and wet windy wintertime, but husbands, children, friends? For me: the train into London on my day off; the arriving back home again. The branch of the oak tree that knocks against the roof of the stable. The postman who comes down the lane. None of these things have followed me to Egypt. Does this mean I am no longer the same person? Does this mean that I too have changed?"
Love blossoms right from the start, or at least a different kind of relationship with a man than she has ever had. Does it start here?
"I study him. I can't help myself, I stare and stare at everything and everyone in this country. He moves across the room and I catch his scent; he always smells very clean. I occurs to me this might be because, as a Muslim, he does not drink alcohol; unlike Englishmen he is never beery and bleary of a morning. He looks up from his work, the work we share. His eyes are quick, dark but brightly lit, and he has caught me staring -- but gives no impression of having found me out. Instead, he smiles. His face is transformed, as though he smiles with his entire being. And I, unguarded -- there's no reason to feel guarded here, in this place, the Esher household and its gossip and malice are thousands of miles away, there is no one here to see me -- smile back...."
I love Pullinger's descriptions of another world. It's not just that the book takes place in 1852, but it also takes place in a world that is so different from our own.
"And so we left Cairo. We had not seen the pyramids at Giza yet; that would have to wait until our return, despite my impatience, though I was compensated by the knowledge of what we would see en route. In Egypt everything is so utterly unfamiliar, even the moon and stars look altered, strange, as though my Lady and I have swapped planets, not countries."
When they close up house in England, the Mistress to move to Egypt and the rest of the household to move away, it reminds me how my own life has become like this, and I am trying to whittle things down, not just in case we move (which often seems highly unlikely), but because the stuff is just too much and I would like to live more simply. I just don't know how to do that.
"...It is a shock to see such a solid household reduced like this; it turns we spend our days surrounded by junk and detritus, all of which we were somehow convinced we needed..."
I don't always take the whole beginning, but this beginning is extraordinary; in fact, this is the entire first chapter. I was immediately catapulted into her story, and her world. I knew right here, that I will absolutely love it and it will inspire me.
"The truth is that, to her, I was not fully human. I was not a complete person and it was this thought, or rather, this lack of thought, that compelled her, allowed her, to act as she did. She loved me, there's no question of that, and I knew it, and had felt secure in it, but it transpired that she loved me like a favoured household pet. I was part of the background, the scenery; when she entertained, I was a useful stage prop. She treated her staff well and I was the closest to her; I did everything for her in those last years. I was chosen to accompany her on her final, long, journey. But I was not a real person to her, not a true soul with all the potential for grace and failure that implies. My error was not to recognise this, not to understand this from the beginning. When I did wrong, I was dismissed, I was no longer of use to her. No, worse that that -- I was excised, cut out, as though I'd become part of her dreadful disease, a rotting, malignant supernumerary limb that needed to be got rid of. So I was amputated. I was sent out into the world, a useless lump of flesh and bone cast off from the corporeal body. But that's too much, that's too dramatic. I'm not given to drama, though my situation called for it. The truth is that she hated me for being happy. She hated me for finding love when love had deserted her. She hated me for creating a family when she had lost hers. She hated me for living when she herself faced death. And she could not admit to these feelings -- how could anyone admit to feeling this way? So it suited her to treat me as though I was not worthy of the empathy, the considered compassion and generosity, the spirit and humour, she bestowed upon her fellow man. I was not worthy.
But that is not where my story starts. And, more importantly, that is not where my story ends either -- she was not my ending. Once she cast me out, she could no longer control me. No.
My story starts in England, in 1862, a long time ago, and very far away from where I dwell today."
September 16, 2021
This book is based on historical facts from the life of Lucie Duff Gordon who wrote the book Letters from Egypt published in 1865. In her book, she wrote about her travels along the Nile River in Egypt during the last years of her life. She had tuberculosis and had to leave her family in England and travel to Egypt where the climate was more suitable for her condition. Her lady's maid, Sally Naldrett, who had been with her many years accompanied her to Egypt. Although much is known about Lucie Duff Gordon (or as Lady Duff Gordon as she is called in the book) but very little is known about Sally Nadrett or the Egyptian dragoman, Omar Abu Halaweh, who was hired in Egypt. Therefore, at least some of what is written about Sally and Omar is entirely fictional.
The story is told in the voice of Sally and chronicles her life from the time the decision is made for Lady Duff Gordon to travel to Egypt until Lady Duff Gordon's death in Egypt seven years later. During that time, Sally's life changes completely. Although she grows to love Egypt, she eventually finds herself in very difficult circumstances after getting involved in an affair with the Egyptian dragoman, Omar. I won't go any further to avoid spoiling the plot for others.
During their travels, Lady Duff Gordon, Sally and Omar primarily spend time beginning in Alexandria, Cairo and Luxor. The live on a boat part of the time and eventually make Luxor their primary base. Although Omar is initially hired as a dragoman---the definition of which is guide or interpreter, his job comes to involve much more---doing all the cooking since he is skilled in this area, acting much like a butler might do in some households and becoming a companion to both Lady Duff Gordon and Sally.
The author details the political climate of Egypt in the time period---it was ruled by a leader who owned everything in the land and imposed heavy burdens on the poor people of the land, conscripting them to do heavy labor projects, taking their livestock for his own use and many other injustices. Lady Duff Gordon was a highly unusual woman for her time---not only traveling independently in Egypt but also hosting salons in her home for intellectual discussions among local leaders. She also treats Sally better than many mistresses until Sally steps too far outside her prescribed role. It was also interesting reading about the different lifestyles of the Egyptians as compared to European visitors.
For anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction and other cultures, I definitely recommend this book.
The story is told in the voice of Sally and chronicles her life from the time the decision is made for Lady Duff Gordon to travel to Egypt until Lady Duff Gordon's death in Egypt seven years later. During that time, Sally's life changes completely. Although she grows to love Egypt, she eventually finds herself in very difficult circumstances after getting involved in an affair with the Egyptian dragoman, Omar. I won't go any further to avoid spoiling the plot for others.
During their travels, Lady Duff Gordon, Sally and Omar primarily spend time beginning in Alexandria, Cairo and Luxor. The live on a boat part of the time and eventually make Luxor their primary base. Although Omar is initially hired as a dragoman---the definition of which is guide or interpreter, his job comes to involve much more---doing all the cooking since he is skilled in this area, acting much like a butler might do in some households and becoming a companion to both Lady Duff Gordon and Sally.
The author details the political climate of Egypt in the time period---it was ruled by a leader who owned everything in the land and imposed heavy burdens on the poor people of the land, conscripting them to do heavy labor projects, taking their livestock for his own use and many other injustices. Lady Duff Gordon was a highly unusual woman for her time---not only traveling independently in Egypt but also hosting salons in her home for intellectual discussions among local leaders. She also treats Sally better than many mistresses until Sally steps too far outside her prescribed role. It was also interesting reading about the different lifestyles of the Egyptians as compared to European visitors.
For anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction and other cultures, I definitely recommend this book.
November 6, 2021
The Mistress of Nothing is a Victorian Age historical novel based on the letters of Lady Duff Gordon. This book is very well researched and fascinating in its descriptions of 19th century Egypt, and if for no other reason than that it is worth your read. Lady Duff Gordon, a well-respected translator, writer, and hostess to many of the most iconic authors of her day is dying of tuberculosis. On the advice of her physician, she with her lady’s maid daringly leaves family and friends for the hot, dry climate of Egypt where she hopes to find a cure. Pullinger’s descriptions of the colliding of two distinct cultures are vivid and memorable as the two sail the Nile River on their way to Luxor. The author chose, I suppose, to relate the story from the viewpoint of her maid, Sally Naldrett, to paint a more interesting perspective and build a love story that sets up an antagonism between the two heroines. However, for me, it was a little heavy-handed in its portrayal of good versus bad. Lacking were the subtleties of the psychological relationship between mistress and servant, and the effects of betrayal. And lacking was the empathy for a woman in constant pain who bravely abandoned her world for the chance to live. If betrayed by the one person you depend on, how complete would be your vindictiveness? In this case, the effects are devastating, which makes for a fun read.
July 1, 2017
I really enjoyed this book--an English lady suffering from perhaps "consumption" in the mid 1800s, is forced to leave her family behind in search of hotter and drier living conditions to aid her breathing. She, Lady Duff Gordon, and her ladies' maid Sally end up in Egypt. It was fascinating to read about their travels and stay in Egypt. There is not a lot of action in the story, but it centres around Sally and her role in the Lady's household, and how it changes once she becomes pregnant and married. It is the descriptive writing that captivated me, and how the characters are so lovingly portrayed--I really felt like they were real (well, they were real in fact, but I mean that I really got to know them!), and because of this lovely writing, I would read something else by Pullinger.
May 18, 2019
Mistress of Nothing - Pullinger
Audio performance by Rosalyn Landor
3.5 stars
Lady Duff Gordon was well known in Victorian England for her published translations and her literary social life. When tuberculosis forced her retreat to Egypt for the health benefits of hot dry air, she was celebrated for her published letters. Her lady’s maid, Sally, was also a real person. This book is Sally’s fictional story.
Sally has a lot to say about the role of a confidential lady’s maid, beginning with the book’s opening sentence, “The truth is, that to her, I was not fully human.” She gives a detailed, heart rending, account of her evolution from intimate, trusted servant, to rejected pariah. I enjoyed the historical details of this story. Lady Duff Gordon was a vibrant personality who was very willing to reject society’s restrictions when they interfered with her comfort. She was unwilling to allow Sally the similar freedoms. The story drags quite a bit as Sally grapples with the consequences of her choices, but I felt that the final outcome was realistic; hopeful, if not a resounding happily ever after.
Audio performance by Rosalyn Landor
3.5 stars
Lady Duff Gordon was well known in Victorian England for her published translations and her literary social life. When tuberculosis forced her retreat to Egypt for the health benefits of hot dry air, she was celebrated for her published letters. Her lady’s maid, Sally, was also a real person. This book is Sally’s fictional story.
Sally has a lot to say about the role of a confidential lady’s maid, beginning with the book’s opening sentence, “The truth is, that to her, I was not fully human.” She gives a detailed, heart rending, account of her evolution from intimate, trusted servant, to rejected pariah. I enjoyed the historical details of this story. Lady Duff Gordon was a vibrant personality who was very willing to reject society’s restrictions when they interfered with her comfort. She was unwilling to allow Sally the similar freedoms. The story drags quite a bit as Sally grapples with the consequences of her choices, but I felt that the final outcome was realistic; hopeful, if not a resounding happily ever after.
December 23, 2021
If Lady Duff Gordon and her lady’s maid Sally don’t please, puzzle, frustrate, and anger you, that’s ok. They might instead amaze and impress. Either way, their historically- based and accurate story will capture and transport you. The divides of class and cultures are real, but they don’t need to destroy lives or loves. Go Sally and Omar!!
March 21, 2018
I picked this up on the dollar shelf at the back of a bookstore, and it's much better than that. Fascinating tale told from the perspective of a lady's maid, based on a true story. I love that the author wanted to tell her story. And it's based on real circumstances.
Great insight into older cultures. I'm glad I read it.
Great insight into older cultures. I'm glad I read it.
June 12, 2018
This has some passages of pretty descriptive writing but unfortunately it’s total snooze outside of some nice prose. I doubt I would have finished it if it hadn’t been so short. I actually need a plot and/or well developed characters to enjoy a book.
October 1, 2020
The best surprise was the historical photograph on the inside back cover of the paperback edition.
The novel is loosely based on the last years of Lucie Duff Gordon who travelled down the Nile
for health reasons and published a book based on her letters (1860). The narrator is her maid, Sally, who has a child with their Egyptian dragoman, Omar. An interesting read.
The novel is loosely based on the last years of Lucie Duff Gordon who travelled down the Nile
for health reasons and published a book based on her letters (1860). The narrator is her maid, Sally, who has a child with their Egyptian dragoman, Omar. An interesting read.
May 1, 2021
Fascinating look at Victorian morals and class distinctions while visiting Egypt.
October 13, 2021
3.5 stars. This novel is based on a true story, which makes it a compelling read. It takes place in England and Egypt in the mid 1800’s. Egypt is a country rich with antiquities and history and the author was able to travel to Egypt to do the necessary research for her novel. This book provides the reader with a glimpse into that remarkable country. Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel, the Valley of the Kings and Queens. This is a trip down the Nile without leaving home!
May 30, 2021
This book is fiction but based on real historical people. Much is known about Lady Duff-Gordon and her time living in Egypt from her published letters, but less is known about her Egyptian servant Omar or her lady's maid, Sally. The novel is told from the Sally's viewpoint, as she leaves everything she knows in England to travel to Luxor to help her Lady who is suffering from tuberculosis.
Sally soon falls in love with the Egyptian landscape and its people, but her first real love affair causes a rift with her employer.
I felt the prose was gorgeous, but the story was somewhat slight at first, and yet I really came to care about Sally and her well-being over the course of the novel. I really enjoyed this. Recommended.
Sally soon falls in love with the Egyptian landscape and its people, but her first real love affair causes a rift with her employer.
I felt the prose was gorgeous, but the story was somewhat slight at first, and yet I really came to care about Sally and her well-being over the course of the novel. I really enjoyed this. Recommended.
December 10, 2022
This is a fictionalized account of time spent in England and Egypt, from the point of view of Lady Duff Gordon's maid, who falls in love with her lady's dragoman. The descriptions of Egypt in the mid 1860s, along with the political situations were impressive.
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