Overview

A richly drawn, captivating, and endlessly amusing novel of love and subterfuge between a lady’s maid and her clandestine lover, set in the country estates of 19th century England. Miss Alice Lockey, daughter of a tenant farmer, has by dint of hard work, innate intelligence, and a cunning ability to predict the moods of her betters, raised herself to the lofty status of Lady’s maid at Alderwick Park. Though her mother has advised Alice to work only until marriage, Alice has thus far resisted the temptations of matrimony among the neighboring widowers and pig farmers, more content to enjoy the fruits of her labor—or at least the portion of it her father will share after it is paid to him. Alice spends her days arranging Lady Jemima Alderwick’s blond hair into the latest French styles, chignons and plaits, laundering her lady’s surprisingly malodorous petticoats and drawers, and carefully sewing all manner of fripperies, ribbons, lace, and silk flowers, to her lady’s bonnets and gowns. But when a visiting servant, a valet named Charlie Wells, catches her eye, Alice begins to understand the constraints of her position. In a ploy to spend time with the object of her affection, Alice attempts to arrange a romance between Lady Jemima Alderwick and Charlie’s employer, one Baronet Sir Nigel Wynstowe. If only they would fall in love—then Alice and Charlie might live together as man and wife! Challenged by Lady Jemima’s love for another and Sir Nigel’s eccentric personality, Alice must use all of her cunning to bring this unlikely romantic union. Will this low-born servant successfully manipulate the hearts of these lords and ladies? Will Charlie and Alice ever improve their stations? Or, as the beginning of women’s suffrage begins to percolate in the drawing rooms and salons of London, will Alice discover a different sort of path for herself? A deliciously funny, gorgeously detailed, utter enthralling novel, The Perfect Hand is a glorious novel of class, gender, and England on the cusp of enormous change.

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Reviews

""A Perfect Hand is an absolute delight and a joy to read. This novel showcases Ayelet Waldman’s many gifts—her humor, her storytelling prowess, her wisdom about human nature, and her passion for social justice. All wrapped up in an irresistible love story. I couldn’t put it down."" —J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of The Cliffs ""I tore through this clever, big-hearted upstairs-downstairs novel about ambition, desire, and women’s place in the world, charmed and delighted on every page. With a voice that feels both borrowed from the 19th century and entirely her own, Ayelet Waldman gives us a servant’s story full of wit, yearning, and moral bite. Inventive, sparkling, and slyly subversive."" —Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of The Exiles ""I was in want of a captivating book, and I found one in A Perfect Hand. Ayelet Waldman’s clever, fast-paced historical romp turned out to be not only great fun but also surprisingly stirring. This book is a pleasure."" —Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Female Persuasion ""An amuse bouche of a novel with an astringent feminist bite. Waldman twists the conventions of the 19th century novel for a result that is part homage, part satire, entirely fun."" —Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of Memorial Days

""A Perfect Hand is an absolute delight and a joy to read. This novel showcases Ayelet Waldman’s many gifts—her humor, her storytelling prowess, her wisdom about human nature, and her passion for social justice. All wrapped up in an irresistible love story. I couldn’t put it down."" —J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of The Cliffs ""I tore through this clever, big-hearted upstairs-downstairs novel about ambition, desire, and women’s place in the world, charmed and delighted on every page. With a voice that feels both borrowed from the 19th century and entirely her own, Ayelet Waldman gives us a servant’s story full of wit, yearning, and moral bite. Inventive, sparkling, and slyly subversive."" —Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of The Exiles ""I was in want of a captivating book, and I found one in A Perfect Hand. Ayelet Waldman’s clever, fast-paced historical romp turned out to be not only great fun but also surprisingly stirring. This book is a pleasure."" —Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Female Persuasion ""An amuse bouche of a novel with an astringent feminist bite. Waldman twists the conventions of the 19th century novel for a result that is part homage, part satire, entirely fun."" —Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of Memorial Days “If Jane Austen and Nora Ephron collaborated, they might produce something close to this new novel by Waldman. . . . Witty, frothy, and ultimately wise. . . . Sometimes a Victorian-era caper, replete with crinolines and coiffures, carries a shockingly important purpose beneath its skirts.” —Kirkus (starred review)

""A Perfect Hand is an absolute delight and a joy to read. This novel showcases Ayelet Waldman’s many gifts—her humor, her storytelling prowess, her wisdom about human nature, and her passion for social justice. All wrapped up in an irresistible love story. I couldn’t put it down."" —J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of The Cliffs ""I tore through this clever, big-hearted upstairs-downstairs novel about ambition, desire, and women’s place in the world, charmed and delighted on every page. With a voice that feels both borrowed from the 19th century and entirely her own, Ayelet Waldman gives us a servant’s story full of wit, yearning, and moral bite. Inventive, sparkling, and slyly subversive."" —Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of The Exiles ""I was in want of a captivating book, and I found one in A Perfect Hand. Ayelet Waldman’s clever, fast-paced historical romp turned out to be not only great fun but also surprisingly stirring. This book is a pleasure."" —Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Female Persuasion ""An amuse bouche of a novel with an astringent feminist bite. Waldman twists the conventions of the 19th century novel for a result that is part homage, part satire, entirely fun."" —Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of Memorial Days “If Jane Austen and Nora Ephron collaborated, they might produce something close to this new novel by Waldman. . . . Witty, frothy, and ultimately wise. . . . Sometimes a Victorian-era caper, replete with crinolines and coiffures, carries a shockingly important purpose beneath its skirts.” —Kirkus (starred review) “Jane Austen–esque . . . . Rollicking. . . . Waldman speaks in a graceful, authentic voice about Victorian England’s lifestyles, horrors, and frivolities. She honors women’s empowerment while relishing the tropes of the romance genre. . . . She has dealt readers a truly winning hand.” —Library Journal

Author Information

AYELET WALDMAN is the author of A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life, the novels Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, and Daughter's Keeper, as well as of the essay collection Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace and the Mommy-Track Mystery series. She is the editor of Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons and of the forthcoming Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation. She was a Federal public defender and an adjunct professor at the UC Berkeley law school where she developed and taught a course on the legal implications of the War on Drugs. She lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband, Michael Chabon, and their four children.

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