Fay Weldon — She May Not Leave

Fourth Estate 2005 Paperback, 284pp. Hattie has a difficult if loving partner, Martyn, an absentee mother, Lallie, and a cynical if attentive grandmother Frances. She tries to do the right and moral thing in a tricky world, and always has. But she now has a baby, Kitty, which makes true morality rather harder to achieve. Somehow, money has to be earned. Into this household comes Agnieszka, from Poland, a domestic paragon. But is she friend or foe? And even if she is foe, and seems likely to bring the domestic world crashing down around their ears, can they afford to let her go? Well, no. Martyn works for a politcal magazine, Hattie for a literary agency. At work, too, integrity is sufferning as the need for compromise becomes ever more pressing. And always in the background is Frances tracing the family and social history. And now, finally, Agnieszka, who has come to claim a life for herself at Hattie's expense. Will Hattie go to the wall? Or will rescue come? Tanning to top edge of pages otherwise very good condition. (ISBN: 9780007220861). Good.