Comment

Jun 13, 2012GLNovak rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I have seen this novel compared to The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and can only say that the latter brought to the reader a fuller picture of the tenor of the day than does this story, which is based on the experience of Sally Naldrett as lady's maid to Lady Duff Gordon while in Luxor, Egypt. Sally falls in love with and becomes pregnant by Omar the dragoman of their household. She becomes his wife number 2, and manages to keep her pregnancy secret from all around her up until the very birth. Her mistress rejects her and the baby as a disgrace on the family that needs to be shed as soon as possible. The help is always just the help and cannot expect any favours. It would have been interesting to get glimpses into the minds and thought of Lady Duff Gordon and Omar, rather than seeing all the events from only Sally's perspective.