The Mistress Of Nothing by Kate Pullinger

While not every city is painted positively, you can get a sense of the different characters in Alexandria, Cairo, and Luxor. Sally comes across as such a vivid, sympathetic character that you feel like you know her at the end of the book – even though very little is known about her.ĭoes this book make me want to travel to Egypt? Yes! It is transparent and honest about Egypt’s political and social realities in the mid to late 1800s. The reader is rewarded with a book that overflows with rich details. Pullinger spent years researching Sally and Lucie’s time in Egypt, combing through the latter’s letters, book, and diaries. It is well written and well researched, and I can appreciate the author’s creativity in writing a well-known story from a different point of view. Together, Sally and Lucie defy nearly every expectation held of proper Victorian ladies – until Sally steps out just too far and Lucie brings the full force of Victorian morality down upon her. Sally is treated more like a friend or a travelling companion than a servant in many regards. Lucie’s non-conformist life means that Sally is not always paid regularly, but she is afforded a level of freedom and independence that she could have never imagined. Under these unconventional conditions, Sally thrives, pursuing passions previously unknown to her in life as an English servant.

What was originally a brief sojourn soon becomes a new home for the two women. Together, Lady Duff Gordon and Sally throw themselves into Egyptian life – sailing the Nile, learning Arabic, adopting local customs. And thus, when Lady Duff Gordon travels to Egypt to treat her tuberculosis, Sally naturally accompanies her. The idea of having any other kind of life or career is seemingly unthinkable, and her commitment is absolute.

Sally’s life has been marked by her devotion to service and dedication to the Duff Gordon family.

The Mistress Of Nothing by Kate Pullinger