Cluny Brown: A Novel

An unconventional parlor maid upends the lives of an aristocratic family in prewar England

Cluny Brown refuses to know her place in society. Last week, she took herself to tea at the Ritz. Then she spent almost an entire day in bed eating oranges. So, to teach her discipline, her uncle, a plumber who has raised the orphaned girl since she was a baby, sends her into service as a parlor maid at one of England’s stately manor houses.

At Friars Carmel in Devonshire, Cluny meets her employers: Sir Henry, the quintessential country squire, and Lady Carmel, who oversees the management of her home with unruffled calm. Their son, Andrew, newly returned from abroad with a Polish emigre writer friend, is certain the country is once again on the brink of war. Then there’s Andrew’s beautiful fiancee and the priggish town pharmacist.

While everyone around her struggles to keep pace with a rapidly changing world, Cluny continues to be Cluny, transforming those around her with her infectious zest for life.

An entertaining story of England just before the war … Top drawer reading. -Kirkus Reviews