Comments (28)

What did you think about this title?
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May 17, 2019Urbano rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 stars. Couldn't put it down...a very evocative mood and story and a heroine to root for. This one lingered on in my mind for a long time after I read it.
Mar 26, 2017sgcf rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is an intriguing story that focuses on several relationships, made more dramatic by the Egyptian setting in the mid-1800s. I found the first half of this historical novel too detailed with what was probably the author’s attempt at…
Mar 14, 2017tlvanapeldoorn rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Story of Lady Duff Gordon, her maid Sally and Sally's affair with an Egyptian married man. Lady Duff has TB and goes to Egypt due to poor health. Sally has an affair with Omar the dragoman for Mrs Duff. The book provides insights into…
Jun 13, 2015
From Michelle, our 2015 Summer Reading Club member: Victorian values in Egypt where a beloved servant is cast out for daring to fall in love.
Sep 14, 2014WVMLStaffPicks rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This back-story behind Letters from Egypt, Lady Duff Gordon's account of her time in 1860's Egypt, is a riveting account of her loyal maid-servant's life—at first utterly tied up with her mistress and then daring to have a life beyond that…
Jun 17, 2013WVMLBookClubTitles rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Winner of the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award, this novel is set in Egypt in the 1860s. Based very loosely on the life of Lady Duff Gordon, the story revolves around her maid, Sally. Lady Gordon is diagnosed with tuberculosis and…
Jul 11, 2012mayfairlady rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Great story. Main characters are based on real people.
xXxAlexanderxXx
Jun 27, 2012
i love the book. very addicting. but i hate how lady duff gordon became after sally had the baby, its very sad after all the things that accured between sally and lady duff gordon as a family. i was happy when she died but im still unhappy…
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…
Apr 04, 2012samdog123 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A little cliche, but The Mistress of Nothing is quite something. Dealing with the class distinctions of Victorian England, its a very insightful look at British peers and their relationship and expectations of their servants. Lady Duff…
Nicole21
Apr 03, 2012Nicole21 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This book was a decent read. I think a sad story about a very sick lady whose perception of right and wrong were shaped by her grave sickness. An insightful book about coverting what one can not have and making those who have - thru no…
Feb 20, 2012
If you like Downton Abbey, you will probably enjoy this book. Add a touch of Egypt and you have a good read.
Feb 10, 201221221018293347 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
an interesting story loosely based in fact about a lady's maid (Lady Duff Gordon) who travels to Egypt to care for her mistress. There she not only falls in love with the country, but will the manservant hired to take care of the two…
Jan 11, 2012(Staff) Elaine Bird rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A great read. If you enjoy historical fiction this is well worth picking up. It is based (loosely) on a true story which makes it all the more fascinating to me.
bibliosue
Nov 29, 2011bibliosue rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Recommended as a book to read if you loved THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. The only connection I see is that this novel is told from the perspective of the lady's maid. An enjoyable read, though, with an interesting look into Egypt of the…
Nov 20, 2011
Jo Saul says if you liked The Help by Kathryn Stockett, you'll love The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
barb8571
Jul 18, 2011barb8571 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I highly recommend this book! 5 Stars
ksoles
May 19, 2011ksoles rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I admit that the premise of the 2009 Governor General's Award for fiction didn't exactly excite me: Lady Duff-Gordon, a passionate intellectual suffering from tuberculosis, moves to Egypt in the early 1860s with her maid, Sally Naldrett.…
Mar 14, 2011jhmcdee rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Winner of the GG award although I don't know which year. The story takes place in the 1860's, first in England, then in Egypt. The central character is Sally Naldret, ladies maid to Lady Duff Gordon. Lady Gordon has TB so ends up in the…
Mar 14, 2011Palomino rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Huh, another chick-lit romance, only it's an anti-romance. A bit slow, but good. I'm getting a bit sick of the "isolate the woman from her previous culture, dump her in some exotic faraway place, and voila: enough spiritual growth…
Dec 08, 2010macierules rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I usually like my historical fiction a little heavier on details, but this was a fascinating story based on real events.
Oct 22, 2010ewakk rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
It's an OK book. Not sure why it got the Governor General prize, nothing Canadian about it. I did like the setting of the book (1860 Egypt).
Sep 03, 2010GingerKaren rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Totally mesmerizing story of a woman who tries to break free of her society's mores only to find that the limitations placed on her as a servant and woman are completely binding. Based on a true story.
Aug 17, 2010PChaplinsky rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Winner of the 2009 Governor General Literary Award, 'The Mistress of Nothing' is well worth a read. The story is unique and captivating involving three main characters, Lady Duff Gordon, Sally Naldrett her lady's maid and Mr. Omar Abu…
Jun 23, 2010margie46 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I find the plight of women, historically or otherwise, often terminally sad.