Adversity

this book was a little slow for me to get involved in but after the baby was born, I wanted to see what happened to Sally. It wasn't until after I finished the book that I realized this was written about a real person, Sally that did work for Lady Duff Gordon and had a baby with an Egyptian dragoman. What a strong person she was but how awful for what she had to give up, her own son! Life really was hard back then for someone not wealthy and especially a woman. It really opened my eyes to the horrible things that were done to the Egyptian natives by the prominent people of that culture. I hadn't really heard of those things before. It kind of ran parallel to what Sally was having happen to her. ( )

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. ( )

i seem to be hitting a bit of a reading rut lately, though one with a common denominator: books where i find the settings and time periods very interesting, but which, overall, leave me feeling a bit disappointed. though i did find some of the characters interesting in 'the mistress of nothing', i felt it was a very surface portrayal. even with allowances for the times and traditions/expectations, the second half of the novel proved very frustrating - i didn't really buy into the situations presented, after sally and omar's baby was born, and found their handling clumsy. ( )

I wish I hadn't read the reviews before picking up this book. I went into it fully believing I'd hate it. I even put off reading until the very last minute. Never ever base your book choices on other people's reviews. Why? Because what other readers like is almost always different than your own tastes.

The Mistress of Nothing is Pullinger's fictional take on the life of Lady Duff Gordon's maid, Sally Naldrett. Of course, she researched and based the events on letters and documents from the time, so some of it is factual. The bottom line here though, and something that a few readers don't seem to notice, is that this is a fiction novel. I enjoyed it very much. Pullinger's writing style is very engaging and I loved that she didn't go cliche with her heroine. She was true to how women in Sally's position would be in this time period. They were passive, they were unnoticed and often their lives revolved around their employers. Is it right? Of course not. Who would want that kind of life? But that's the way it was at the time. Sally's motivations make complete sense to me, as do Lady Duff Gordon's.

I'd definitely recommend this book. A great read that if you take the time too look beneath the surface has a lot to say. The writing is a pleasure to read, and I'll be picking up more by Pullinger very soon. ( )