Output details

The Mistress of Nothing

The Mistress of Nothing is an historical novel, based on a true story, set in Egypt in the 1860s. Research questions included: 1 Can modes of narrative common to literary fiction be applied to historical fiction? 2 Can historical fiction that is based on fact illuminate hidden lives and untold stories as effectively as historical non-fiction? While Lady Duff Gordon’s life story is well known, documented by her own book ‘Letters from Egypt’ and a 1994 biography, the story of her maid, Sally Naldrett, expelled from Duff Gordon’s Egyptian household in 1864, remains unknown. How should the novel tell Sally’s story? Research practice involved establishing details of the period setting in day-to-day living and the socio-political situation, and making the result readable, textured and authentic. The Mistress of Nothing has been published in many territories, including translations in Egypt and Ethiopia. In Canada, it won the Governor General’s Award for Literary Fiction, 2009. It began an interesting press debate with Anthony Beevor, debating the merits of novelists writing about real people, and subsequent to publication, I was contacted by descendants of Sally Naldrett, who confirmed that, while the fate of the lady’s maid, Sally, remains unknown, the career of Sally’s sister, Ellen, followed a course similar to what I conjectured, in the hotel business in Egypt.