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 émigré writer friend, is certain the
country is once again on the brink of war. Then there's Andrew's
beautiful fiancée 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