Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Harris, J. | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
An extraordinary historical novel about a peculiar friendship between the mistress of a Scottish estate and her irresistibly appealing housemaid Scotland, 1863. In an attempt to escape her not-so-innocent past in Glasgow, Bessy BuckleyÂa wide-eyed and feisty young Irish girlÂtakes a job as a maid in a big house outside Edinburgh working for the beautiful ArabellaÂthe Âmissus. Bessy lacks the necessary scullery skills for her new position, but as she finds out, it is her ability to read and write that makes her such a desirable property. Bessy is intrigued by her new employer but puzzled by her increasingly strange requests and her insistence that Bessy keep a journal of her mundane chores and most intimate thoughts. And it seems that the missus has a few secrets of her own, including her near- obsessive affection for Nora, a former maid who died in mysterious circumstances.Giving in to her curiosity, Bessy makes an infuriating discovery and, out of jealousy, concocts a childish prank that backfires and threatens to jeopardize all that she has come to hold dear. Yet even when caught up in a tangle of madness, ghosts, sex, and lies, she remains devoted to Arabella. But who is really responsible for what happened to her predecessor Nora? As her past threatens to catch up with her and raise the stakes even further, Bessy begins to realize that she has not quite landed on her feet.The Observationsis a brilliantly original, endlessly intriguing story of one womanÂs journey from a difficult past into an even more disturbing present, narrated by one of the most vividly imagined heroines in recent fiction. This powerful story of secrets and suspicions, hidden histories and mysterious disappearances is at once compelling and heart-warming, showing the redemptive power of loyalty and friendship. A hugely assured and darkly funny debut, The Observationsis certain to establish Jane Harris as a significant new literary talent.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Bessy Buckley comes upon Castle Haivers on her way to Edinburgh in 1863. An Irish girl, she's in "Scratchland" to improve her station, and ends up a scullery maid to a strange, lovely mistress, Arabella Reid (on whom she develops something of a crush), despite her lack of experience. Bessy's discovery of Arabella's book, The Observations, which she is writing about servants she's had and their cooperativeness, tests her loyalty to Arabella ("the missus") five-fold and sets in motion a tragedy (complete with supernatural elements). Bessy learns that being above-stairs is no guarantee of happiness, and others may have as much to hide as she does. Sharp, funny and tender-hearted, Bessy is an accomplishment for Londoner and first-time novelist Harris, who also manages the pace, period and book-within-a-book conceit nicely. (June 19) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
In her entertaining debut, a British writer hands the job of storytelling to a saucily streetwise servant in Victorian Scotland. Daisy O'Toole (aka Bessy Buckley) leaps to irresistible life on page one of this historical mystery/romp--she's a savvy, earthy, comical and compelling character in search of decent work, having already earned her stripes as a child prostitute and live-in concubine when she was probably no older than 14. Despite her salty tongue and seen-it-all attitude, she charms her way into employment at Castle Haivers, working as the "in and out girl" (i.e., maid) for Arabella Reid, who is secretly writing Observations on the Habits and Nature of the Domestic Class in My Time, for which she obliges Daisy to write a (semi-literate) journal. Harris neatly layers these texts, with their omissions, embellishments and varied versions of the facts. Daisy learns from Arabella's book that a previous maid, Nora, a model servant, met a nasty end under the wheels of a speeding train. Daisy uses her own journal to exploit her mistress's nerves and Arabella has a breakdown, her mental health now given over to the care of her husband and a doctor keen to apply punishing contemporary remedies. (While Sarah Waters's Fingersmith took a different, more terrifying look at Victorian treatment of the insane, the authors have in common an invigorating modern approach to historical fiction.) Harris's story, though light on plot, is rich in character, its strength deriving almost wholly from Daisy's irrepressible and ripe narrative voice. A helter-skelter conclusion combines farce (Arabella escapes confinement and beats with a shovel the pompous cleric responsible for Nora's downfall), tragedy (another death on the railway line) and moral improvement (Daisy's virtues recognized), takes a few sideswipes at the publishing business and still leaves the door open for what Daisy might do next. Rollicking and engaging. A confident, fresh, roguishly charming first work. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Harris' debut, set in Scotland in 1863, is narrated by the lively, sharp Bessy Buckley, who leaves Glasgow and happens into a job as a maid at Castle Haivers, an estate nowhere near as grand as its name suggests. Her mistress, Arabella, takes a personal interest in Bessy and encourages her to write her thoughts and experiences in a journal. She also subjects Bessy to odd experiments, but Bessy goes along with them because she is flattered by the attention and quickly growing attached to her mistress. Things change when Bessy snoops in Arabella's locked desk and discovers the book Arabella has been writing, The Observations, a study of the habits and nature of the Domestic Class. Bessy is incensed to read some less-than-favorable things about herself in the account, as well as to learn of her mistress' affection for one of her predecessors, a girl who died under mysterious circumstances. Bessy concocts a revenge that ends up having consequences far more lasting than she ever envisioned. Bessy's unique, witty voice distinguishes this boisterous novel. --Kristine Huntley Copyright 2006 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Irish lass Bessy is puzzled when her new mistress, Arabella, asks her to keep a journal-and not a little alarmed when she realizes how obsessed Arabella is with deceased maid Nell. An award-winning British short story writer and filmmaker debuts as a novelist. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.