Undomestic Goddess [Hardcover]

Sophie Kinsella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

She learns how to bake bread, she learns how to slow down. But then her old life threatens to catch up with her. And when it does...will she want it back?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Samantha Sweeting, the 29-year-old heroine of Kinsella's latest confection (after Shopaholic Sister), is on the verge of partnership at the prestigious London law firm Carter Spink—the Holy Grail of her entire workaholic life. But when she finds she has made a terrible, costly mistake just before the partnership decision, she's terrified of being fired. In a fog, she stumbles out of the building and onto the nearest train, which drops her in the countryside, where she wanders to a stately home. The nouveau riche lady of the house mistakes her for the new housekeeper—and Samantha is too astonished to correct her. Numb and unable to face returning to London, Samantha tries to master the finer points of laundry, cooking and cleaning. She discovers that the slow life, her pompous but good-hearted employers and the attentions of the handsome gardener, Nathaniel, suit her just fine. But her past is hard to escape, and when she discovers a terrible secret about her firm—and when the media learns that the former legal star is scrubbing toilets for a living—her life becomes more complicated than ever. If readers can swallow the implausible scenario, then Kinsella's genuine charm and sweet wit may continue to win her fans. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Fans of Kinsella's popular Shopaholic series will find the author in fine form here in her second stand-alone tale, following Can You Keep a Secret? (2004). Samantha Sweeting, an ambitious lawyer on the fast track to becoming a partner at her prestigious law firm, is horrified to discover an overlooked memo on her desk that ends up costing a client 50 million pounds. In a daze, Samantha hops a train and finds herself in the country. She walks up to the first house she sees and knocks on the door, intending to inquire about the nearest hotel, but Trish Geiger mistakes her for the new housekeeper. Still in shock, Samantha decides to go along with Trish and her husband, Eddie's, mistake, despite the fact that she has no domestic skills. Happily, she is aided by the handsome gardener, Nathaniel. He helps her forget about her London law firm, until she makes a startling discovery. Another charming winner from the delightful Kinsella. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 409 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Press; First edition (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0593053850
• ISBN-13: 978-0593053850
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (390 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,540,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sophie Kinsella is a writer and former financial journalist. She is the number one bestselling author of Can You Keep a Secret?, The Undomestic Goddesss, Remember Me? and the hugely popular Shopaholic novels. She lives in London with her husband and family. She is also the author of several bestselling novels under the name of Madeleine Wickham, all published by Black Swan. Visit her website at www.sophiekinsella.co.uk.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved, loved, loved it!, July 23, 2005

By 

Danielle (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Undomestic Goddess (Hardcover)

The Undomestic Goddess is yet anotherwinner from Sophie Kinsella. I read the book in a day and a half because it was a easy fun read. Samantha Sweeting is a hard working lawyer who is on her way to being made a partner at her firm-until she makes a mistake. Samantha then panics and goes into the English countryside. Samantha is mistaken for a housekeeper and she can't seem to find a way to tell her employers Trish and Eddie the truth. So she struggles to learn to cook and clean and this leads to some funny situations. I believe that another amazon.com reviewer said that they found it hard to believe that she became a "world class chef" so quickly, but I didn't find that to be true. She learns to cook but I don't know if I would classify as a her cooking as world class chef cooking. I found the love story in the book to be very sweet. Although, I personally liked the Shopaholic series and Can you keep a secret?, The Undomestic Goddess is a good funny book and I recommend it to anyone who likes Sophie Kinsella and anyone who is a fan of chic-lit books.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars UnRealistic Goddess, August 13, 2005

By 

Cheryl Hernandez "lyrehc1216" (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Undomestic Goddess (Hardcover)

I am a big Can You Keep a Secret fan, so I was looking forward to a SK book that wasn't part of the Shopaholic series. The book is very cute and also interesting, but totally unrealistic. Of course, SK's books are all a bit unrealistic, but this one is plain silly. The book tries to end about 3 or 4 times before actually coming to a conclusion. It was a cute book but fell apart at the end. If you like SK, you'll prolly be able to look past the flaws, and you'll like this book. I wish that I'd borrowed it from the library instead of purchasing it, though.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kinsella's books don't disappoint, July 19, 2005

By 

Just Me (U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Undomestic Goddess (Hardcover)

Another good read from Sophie Kinsella. I found myself laughing out loud at bits. This book follows Samantha, a 29 year old lawyer, who is on the fast track to partner of her law firm. Her life is going in the direction she, and her mum, want. Long hours at the office, take away food, and no time off make up Samantha's life. After a mishap at the office, Samantha takes off, and finds herself living a simpler life - with time for herself - although, she is living a lie as a housekeeper.

Her adjustment to this lifestyle is funny; this is a girl who has no idea about keeping house at all. Will her lies catch up with her? Will the life she strived for from a young age, law, call her back to London? The book was not too predictable, which I really liked. The narrative was good, and I really got into the storyline and hoped Samantha made the right decisions in the end.