Review: The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
The Mistress of Nothing
by Kate Pullinger
Sally Naldrett is the servant of Lady Duff Gordon, one of the most prominent women of London society. The Lady suffers from bouts of tuberculosis, and has lately become so ill that she cannot stay in England, where the climate only aggravates her suffering. Sally accompanies her mistress to Egypt, and they settle in Luxor with a second servant, an Egyptian named Omar who cooks and translates for the Englishwomen. Life in Egypt is easier than expected; freed from the conventions of Victorian England, Lady Duff Gordon runs a relaxed household. Sally almost forgets the class difference between them, until her actions displease her mistress, and Sally is cast aside and forced to piece together a new life in a foreign country.
I love books about Ancient Egypt, but I can’t remember the last time I read a book set in that country after the reign of the Pharaohs. It’s possible that I’ve never read such a story. Visiting 19th century Egypt through the eyes of an Englishwoman made the country accessible, and I liked that she seemed equally amazed by the ancient civilization and the modern Muslims who now live there. That is, Lady Duff Gordon and Sally explored the Egypt that Is, not just the Egypt that Was.
But The Mistress of Nothing is far more than a travelogue chronicling the adventures of two women in a strange company. Although the new country allows the line between servant and mistress to blur many times, it’s never completely erased. In fact, it’s pretty interesting to see how all the British social conventions immediately reappear whenever a member of Duff Gordon’s family comes to visit.
I really loved Kate Pullinger’s writing. It’s almost languid in the way it unfurls the story, but it never seems boring or slow-paced for it. The words just flow very naturally and smoothly. The Mistress of Nothing is her first book to be published in the United States, and it makes me want to seek out some of her earlier books.
Lucie, Lady Duff Gordon was a real woman, as was Sally, her maid. Lady Duff Gordon wrote many letters about her travels; they were eventually published in the book Letters from Egypt. I tried to find a picture of Lady Duff Gordon to include with the review, but this is the only one I could find.
4 out of 5 stars
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