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Overview
"Haunted by phantoms of the Second World War and the Holocaust, young Cressida lives in terror of George Harding, who, severely disfigured, has returned from the front to recover in his family's stately African home. When he plucks Cressida's beautiful mother and her family from financial ruin, establishing them in the old servants' quarters of his estate, Cressida is swept into a future inexorably bound to his." "In the new setting, she finds that she is, after all, indentured. She is conscripted to enliven George Harding's nephew, the hopelessly timid Edgar to make him "wild and daring." And she takes on this task with resentful fury, leading the boy astray and, in the process, learning to munipulate differences in power, class, background, and ambition." Only slowly does she come to understand that George Harding himself is watching her. And waiting.
Synopsis
Haunted by phantoms of World War II and the Holocaust, young Cressida lives in terror of George Harding, who, severely disfigured, has returned from the front to recover on his family’s African estate. When Harding plucks young Cressida’s beautiful mother and family from financial ruin, establishing them in the old servants’ quarters, Cressida is swept into a life inexorably bound to his.
In her new setting, she is conscripted to enliven Harding’s nephew, the hopelessly timid Edgar, to make him “wild and daring.” She takes on this task with resentful fury, leading the boy astray and, in the process, learning to manipulate the disparities of power, class, and ambition. All the while, Harding himself is watching her. And waiting.
The Servants’ Quarters, a complex and sophisticated love story, evokes a vanishing world of privilege with a Pygmalion twist. It is, as Amy Tan said, “Freed’s best novel yet.”
The New York Times - William Boyd
Freed writes with great clarity and skill, and her occupancy of Cressida's voice is exemplary. Short novel though this is, it contains multitudes—among the themes explored are wartime guilt, the Holocaust, the position of South African Jews in a fundamentally British class system and the extent to which our social relations are determined by our self-appointed roles as servants or masters.
Editorials
William Boyd
Freed writes with great clarity and skill, and her occupancy of Cressida's voice is exemplary. Short novel though this is, it contains multitudes—among the themes explored are wartime guilt, the Holocaust, the position of South African Jews in a fundamentally British class system and the extent to which our social relations are determined by our self-appointed roles as servants or masters.—The New York Times
Publishers Weekly
Freed's sixth novel, a moving and unconventional romance spanning 20 years, blossoms in post-WWII South Africa, where Cressida, a precocious nine year old, lives with her mother, Muriel; sister Miranda; and her comatose father. Faced with an uncertain future, the family moves into the servant's quarters at family friend George Harding's stately manor. When Cressida makes an impression on Harding, a wealthy but disfigured former RAF pilot, she is invited to the big house to serve as a companion to Harding's "slow" nephew. Harding also appoints himself mentor to Cressida, and it gradually comes to light that his interest in Cressida may extend past mentorship, even though his gnarled body becomes a physical manifestation of Cressida's many fears. With time, as Harding's health worsens, however, Cressida is beguiled by what she initially perceived to be grotesque. Freed handles issues of class, wealth and dedication with a light but knowing hand, adding depth to a bittersweet love story. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
Freed, who has gained recognition as the author of five novels (e.g., House of Women) and various short stories and essays, here offers an engaging and utterly enjoyable coming-of-age novel set in the years after World War II. Jewish Cressida is the young daughter of a damaged father and beautiful, social-climbing mother. Although she was born after the horrors of the war, Cressida is still haunted by what she learns about it. Most prominent in her education is the war-scarred George Harding, who takes an interest in her mother and then the girl. Her wild and impulsive attitude appeals to him. Cressida is both repulsed by and drawn to the solitary figure, who eventually employs her as a kind of mentor to his timid nephew. As she grows older, George Harding is a constant presence in her life, directing her education and social standing. This presence leads to the pair being connected far more closely than Cressida could have ever imagined. Recommended.
—Leann Restaino
Kirkus Reviews
Freed (Reading, Writing and Leaving Home, 2005, etc.) explores the growing awareness of an independent-minded girl stranded between two eccentric families during the years following World War II. Occasionally reminiscent of classic Victorian fiction, this social drama with farcical interludes takes place in South Africa's class- and money-divided white sector. Narrated by precocious and rebellious Cressida, it traces her family's financial struggles after her father is rendered comatose by a blow to the head from a golf club. Wealthy neighbor George Harding, a horribly disfigured veteran, invites them to move into his servants' quarters, despite gossip that his brother might in fact be Cressida's father. George takes an interest in not-quite-ten-year-old Cressida, urging her to impart some of her daring to his nephew Edgar, the weak, orphaned boy also staying there. Sexuality intrudes later, after her father dies and her mother Muriel marries the common but rich Mr. Ledson. Enraged by Muriel's flirtatiousness at a party, he violently kisses 15-year-old Cressida. Her disgust for her mother's promiscuity intensifies; aching for adulthood and freedom, she moves back in with the Hardings. Attraction develops between her and George, but then Cressida sleeps with her tutor. She fears that she is turning into her mother and has lost George, but her involvement with the older man is not finished. Cressida, forever passionate and willful, will end up making her own choices in Freed's literate tale of skewed romance. Bright, brittle, fierce and written with verve. Author appearances in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New YorkFrom the Publisher
"The Servant's Quarters is Lynn Freed's best novel yet. Cressida, a young girl who watches those around her patch up their wounds from the war and carry on with the weight of pretense, is as observant and as wickedly truthful as any Jane Austen character."—Amy Tan
"Freed is a beautiful writer, dead-on brilliant, rich in humor, possessing a dark and comforting wisdom."—Anne Lamott