Lady's Maid: A Novel [Paperback]

Margaret Forster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2007

“Fascinating . . . The reader is treated to a revealing account of the passionate romance between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning through the eyes of an intimate observer.”
–Booklist

Young and timid but full of sturdy good sense and awakening sophistication, Lily Wilson arrives in London in 1844, becoming a lady’s maid to the fragile, housebound Elizabeth Barrett. Lily is quickly drawn to her mistress’s gaiety and sharp intelligence, the power of her poetry, and her deep emotional need. It is a strange intimacy that will last sixteen years.

It is Lily who smuggles Miss Barrett out of the gloomy Wimpole Street house, witnesses her secret wedding to Robert Browning in an empty church, and flees with them to threadbare lodgings and the heat, light, and colors of Italy. As housekeeper, nursemaid, companion, and confidante, Lily is with Elizabeth in every crisis–birth, bereavement, travel, literary triumph. As her devotion turns almost to obsession, Lily forgets her own fleeting loneliness. But when Lily’s own affairs take a dramatic turn, she comes to expect the loyalty from Elizabeth that she herself has always given.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British novelist Forster (Georgy Girl ), whose biographies include Elizabeth Barrett Browning , lures the reader into the attic of the famous house on Wimpole Street, where Barrett's maid, Elizabeth Wilson, composes copious letters to her mother in the North Country. Her correspondence, the fulcrum of the novel, describes her daily experiences, her impressions of the large household and, especially, her sickly but charismatic mistress. Wilson's devotion is such that she forsakes her homeland, her family, a suitor and even her own reputation in order to aid Miss Elizabeth and her suitor Mr. Browning when they elope to Europe. At this point, the novel falters; Forster is not quite capable of juggling the glamorous settings, Wilson's frustrations (the Brownings, though generous in their affection, cannot see Wilson as other than a servant), her difficult marriage and family life. Wilson's ambivalence about Miss Elizabeth, whom she loves and resents, is the most interesting aspect of the novel, but despite otherwise sensitive handling, it is almost glibly resolved in the conclusion. On the whole, however, this is top-drawer historical fiction, akin to the TV series Upstairs, Downstairs in its appeal and its overtures toward discussions of class. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Until Wilson appeared, it seemed impossible to the agonizingly sensitive and delicate Elizabeth Barrett that anyone could replace the beloved Crow, who had deserted her mistress to marry a baker. As retiring as her new mistress and adept at ministering to the sick, the new maid soon establishes herself as the invalid poetess's defender and companion, even accompanying her in her elopement with Robert Browning. Thus begins an intense relationship that is to become the burden and support of each of their lives. Forster brilliantly explores the uneasy intimacy between mistress and servant, working-class girl and educated lady of leisure to produce a compelling character study and an engrossing novel of the colorful Browning menage. This London Times best seller is highly recommended. --Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345497430
• ISBN-13: 978-0345497437
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #856,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely engrossing, February 22, 2000

By 

Elizabeth K. (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady's Maid (Paperback)

I began reading the book (a library copy) while staying with a friend who had checked it out and only got as far as the first few chapters before I went home. I finally got my hands on my own copy and finished it in a matter of a couple of days. What a treasure!

Forster truly captures the feelings and struggles between the servant-class and the gentry of the era. Too often with books and movies of the period we only see the servants as floating background characters that announce guests, deliver tea-trays, and see to the horses. We forget that often these are humans with feelings and difficult lives.

We see Wilson torn from everything she holds dear in the course of the story. Each time she loses, she steels her resolve and is stronger, but more cynical over time. Yet her devotion to the Browning family never wavers. Elizabeth Barrett Browning holds Wilson in thrall; and for the most part the reverse is true as well.

A touching, sad tale.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly engaging novel of Victorian times, May 31, 2003

By 

A. Schultz "amschult" (Park Ridge, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lady's Maid (Paperback)

As an English teacher, I'm ashamed to admit that I knew very little about either Elizabeth Barrett or Robert Browning before picking up this book. The story of their maid, Lily Wilson, gives an interesting perspective on the private life of Elizabeth and Robert. And I admired that Forster depicted the two famous literary figures as she saw to be accurate, rather than glamorizing and glorifying them as there might be a temptation to do. The two poets are very human, often fussy, melodramatic, and given to self-aggrandizement. That made me all the more interested in the story of Lily and the difference in their lifestyle and hers, and of course their indifference to the way they treated her. It's been a while since I read something like Jane Austen, so it was refreshing and fascinating to dip back into a world with social codes so different from ours today. This book must have taken years to research, and Forster's depiction of Victorian life shows the evidence of that research.

There was a page-long afterword that explained which parts of the book were true, but I wanted more. I wish Margaret Forster had written more books like this! You won't be sorry you picked it up.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lady's Maid is a totally engrossing novel, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady's Maid (Paperback)

that pulls the reader into the very essence of Wilson's life as a "lady's maid to Miss Elizabeth Barrett Browning" during the 1860's. Although one wants to shake some sense into Wilson, one cannot help but to empathize with her depression over her separation from her child and her being "turned out" from her service. This is a wonderful novel that will encase the reader's complete attention from the first page until the last.