by Henry Green
First published 2001
Charley Raunce and the other servants find themselves alone in the Tennants' Irish estate when their employers abandon the house during World War Two. With no masters to answer to, the staff creates their own hierarchy of power. Raunce maneuvers for control while the maids gossip and steal from their absent employers. Cook hoards supplies and the butler's authority crumbles. Each servant protects their territory and seeks personal advantage. Romance blooms between Raunce and Edith, one of the housemaids, as they navigate the shifting alliances below stairs. War rumors drift in from Europe, but the real battles happen within the house itself. The servants' behavior grows increasingly brazen as they pilfer belongings and abandon their duties. Their temporary freedom reveals how thin the veneer of service really was, exposing the raw human desires for love, security, and dominance that proper employment had kept in check.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate
Tropes: found-family, power-struggle
Setting: Ireland, Europe
Period: World War Two
208 pages · Paperback · Random House of Canada