Book of the month - Mistress of Nothing

Imagine immersing yourself in nineteenth century England, where you are the lady’s maid of an aristocratic figure in society. Life in England is only difficult because the Lady you are serving is someone who is struggling with a debilitating illness---tuberculosis. The only relief your Lady gets from the sickness is when she is in a relatively hot climate, for living in damp and chilly England is not a solution. This is where we are introduced to Sally and her Lady, Lucie Duff Gordon.

Gordon plans to spend a year or two in Egypt, to see if this will bring some kind of temporary cure for her condition. The story of their travel down to the country of pyramids and tombs is told through Sally’s voice and is seen through her eyes. Even though Sally is Gordon’s maid, we get a sense of an old friendship between the two women as they share the sights and sounds of Alexandria, Luxor and the Nile.

They hire Omar as a personal guide for their Egyptian tour, while they learn the Arabic language, undo their suffocating Victorian stays and clothe themselves in the free flowing fabrics of the exotic Middle East.

The novel takes us to a wonderful foreign place of sand storms and Arabian culture, political unrest and conflicts within Sally herself. As a single woman in her late twenties/early thirties, Sally is not only considered a lady’s maid, but an “Old Maid”. She has devoted herself to serve Lady Duff Gordon till the end, which indicates that she has accepted her fate of living in celibacy. Her frame of mind slowly starts to change once they set foot in Egypt. When Sally finds she has feelings for Omar, she betrays Lady Duff Gordon in ways that are unthinkable to the dying woman and she must face the harsh consequences of her actions.

I loved the vocabulary in the book and trying to figure out if Sally’s ties to Omar and her Lady will ever be reconciled. I did not want to put the book down because I always wanted to know where they would go next and how the story would unfold, especially when there is a severe break in communication between the two women. The novel begs you to ask if keeping secrets from those close to you will only damage the relationship or save it. If you love Victorian Literature then this is the book for you. I thought this novel was enjoyable and a fast read!