First published 2009
Miss Hallowes types manuscripts for Joseph Conrad, content to remain invisible behind her famous employer's words. When she meets Miss Bosanquet, secretary to Henry James, everything changes. Bosanquet is bold where Hallowes is timid, scheming where she is dutiful. The two women hatch a daring plan to insert themselves into literary history through their masters' correspondence. What begins as harmless mischief spirals into something far more dangerous. Hallowes must choose between her quiet loyalty and her hunger for recognition. The novella anchors a collection where characters start with small deceptions and watch them grow into catastrophes. Comedy turns dark as self-delusion gives way to betrayal, and betrayal demands its price.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th-century
204 pages · Hardcover · Atlas