Horace Lamb runs an austere household with tyrannical force and cruel thrift. His five children shiver through the winter and learn that a fire is not to be taken for granted. When he suddenly turns attentive and caring, even Bullivant – the family’s all-knowing servant – is baffled. Could this be a real change of heart, or a new strategy of manipulation?
Her own favourite among her novels, Manservant and Maidservant is Compton-Burnett at her witty, lacerating best. In frigid drawing-rooms where language is a weapon and secrets are always exposed, she reveals the explosive power struggles at the core of domestic life.