The Mistress of Nothing

by Kate Pullinger Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Overview

Winner of Canada's prestigious Governor General's Award, this richly rendered American debut captures the life of a lady's maid on her journey from the confines of Victorian England to the uncharted reaches of Egypt's Nile Valley, awakening first love, testing loyalties, and discovering freedom has a price.

When Lady Duff Gordon, toast of Victorian London society, departs for the hot, dry climate of Egypt to seek relief from the debilitating effects of her tuberculosis, Sally doesn't think twice about remaining by her mistress' side. Sally and Lady Duff Gordon throw themselves into their exotic surroundings, adopting native dress, learning Arabic, and visiting the tombs of ancient pharaohs. Along the way, Sally comes to experience freedoms she, as a servant, has never known before, as well as her first taste of romance.

But freedom is a luxury that a maid can ill afford, and when Sally grasps for more than status entitles her to, she is brutally reminded that she is mistress of nothing. Ultimately, she must choose her master and a way back-or a way to the unknown.

Based on the real lives of Lady Duff Gordon and her maid, The Mistress of Nothing is a lush, sometimes dark portrait of forbidden love, tested loyalties, and finding an unexpected new definition of “home”-a compelling story that will take listeners on a journey they will not soon forget.

Editorial Reviews

Lisa Fugard

Pullinger has done her research, and the customs and politics of the period—a visit from the Prince and Princess of Wales, the pilfering of antiquities—all make it into the novel…But it's Sally's observations—of men sleeping on the deck of a ship, "rolled up like carpets in a souk," or the feel of the Arabic language in her mouth, "full of air and full of earth at the same time"—that bring this lost world to life.
—The New York Times

From the Publisher

“Tantalizing…Pullinger has done her research.…Sally’s observations…bring this lost world to life.” –The New York Times Book Review


“The book’s commitment to a historical and pragmatic voice is its true gem....A tough story of the unavoidable tragedies and celebrations that three simple, yet extraordinary, lives may yield.” -Book Page

“Explores the relationships people form across boundaries….This is a book you can’t stop thinking about.” -San Francisco Book Review

"A highly sensual evocation of place and time, Kate Pullinger’s The Mistress of Nothing is a journey down the Nile that explores the subtle complexities of power, race, class and love during the Victorian era. The book, narrated by the character of the maid, Sally Naldrett, has one of the most distinctive and memorable voices in recent literature."
~Governor General’s Jury Citation

“Endowing Sally with tremendous character, Pullinger successfully imagines an ordinary life in extraordinary circumstances.” –Publishers Weekly

“Romance and tragedy baked in the blistering oven of British morals and prejudice.” –Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A rich, compelling novel. The story is told...so engagingly that I felt a great loss when I reached the end of the book.” –Historical Novels Review

“An interesting story, exploring relationships between mother and child, master and servant, husband and multiple wives, as well as bringing out the political climate of Egypt during the 1800s.” –The Oklahoman

“Scorchingly powerful.” –Good Housekeeping

Governor General's Literary Award Jury Citation

“A highly sensual evocation of place and time, Kate Pullinger's The Mistress of Nothing is a journey down the Nile that explores the subtle complexities of power, race, class and love during the Victorian era. The book, narrated by the character of the maid, Sally Naldrett, has one of the most distinctive and memorable voices in recent literature.”

Kirkus Reviews

British novelist Pullinger (A Little Stranger, 2008, etc.), who collaborated with Jane Campion on the novelization of the film The Piano, reimagines history in her U.S. debut.

In a renowned series of letters still in print today, Lady Duff Gordon recorded her independent travels abroad, highly unusual for a woman of mid-19th-century England; Pullinger recounts her version of Lady Duff Gordon's stay in Egypt through the eyes of her maid Sally, who receives brief mention in the letters. Suffering from tuberculosis, Lady Duff Gordon traveled on her doctor's recommendation to Egypt in 1862, reluctantly leaving behind her husband and young children. Thirty-year-old Sally has served her mistress devotedly for a decade by the time they depart England. In Alexandria, Lady Duff Gordon hires as her dragoman—a combination of "an interpreter, a guide, a factotum"—Omar, a young Egyptian also mentioned in the actual letters. With Omar, the ladies set off down the Nile to Luxor, where they settle. Lady Duff Gordon is remarkably open to studying the people of Egypt as well as its antiquities. Soon she and Sally are dressing "native" without the stays so symbolic of Victorian England's restrictiveness. The Upstairs/Downstairs mentality is abandoned when Lady Duff Gordon invites Sally and Omar to share her meals. But if mistress and maidservant are soon besotted with Egypt, Sally is also secretly besotted with Omar. Never mind that he's married and a father. When Sally realizes she is pregnant, Omar promises to make her his second wife, legal in Egypt. Unfortunately, no one informs Lady Duff Gordon until she's called to help Sally deliver her baby. Afterward, Lady Duff Gordon keeps Omar in her employ while demanding Sally return to England and hand her child over to Omar's wife. Pullinger portrays Sally's ultimate rebellion as a courageous act of independence and Lady Duff Gordon as an unforgiving puritan and snob.

Putting 21st-century political correctness aside, compared to Lady Duff Gordon's courage and complexity, Sally comes off as a self-delusional, whiny adulteress.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169719598
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	01/04/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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