A Perfect Hand (publication day May 19, 2026) by Ayelet Waldman is my favorite kind of historical fiction–where actual historical figures make an appearance as characters!
Set in the late 1800s in England, the story centers on Alice Lockey, a lady’s maid who grew up in a village, daughter of a farmer, and entered service at the local manor when she was a teenager. She rose through the ranks to become the lady’s maid for the lord’s eldest daughter, who has been in the marriage mart for a few years but hasn’t yet received an offer.
Alice notices the valet, Charlie, of a visitor to the house, defend a young maid wrongly chastised, and then stands up for him herself. His lord is visiting for a while, but has something of an off-putting personality so does not stay for long. Alice, who intends to work as long as she can, at least until she is married, has not found anyone worth considering becoming a wife for. But she really likes Charlie, and when he leaves, they begin a correspondence.
They are able to meet on her half-days when Charlie is in London, and they fall for each other during the little time they can spend with each other. Their prospects aren’t great, though, as their positions are near the top of what they could get and only rarely come open. But, if Alice’s lady and Charlie’s lord were to make a match, they could be together all of the time!
Unfortunately, Alice’s lady has a pesky crush on an undeserving man, so they try to make him less appealing, but it doesn’t really work. And while they are in London with her lady’s aunt (a spinster living on her own), her aunt gives Alice some interesting reading material about women’s suffrage.
Finally, it looks like Alice’s lady looks with favor on Charlie’s lord, and their dreams may come true–but is that what Alice really wants?
I really enjoyed it, though there is some casual anti-fat bias that was not necessary. It wasn’t a major plot point, but still present, which was disappointing. Otherwise it was funny, even discussing the travails of a maid having to deal with her lady’s malodorous clothing!
Reading While Fat 