{"product_id":"a-perfect-hand-paperback","title":"A Perfect Hand - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAyelet Waldman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA richly drawn, captivating, and endlessly amusing novel of love and subterfuge between a lady's maid and her clandestine lover, set in the country estates of 19th century England.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMiss Alice Lockey, daughter of a tenant farmer, has by dint of hard work, innate intelligence, and a cunning ability to predict the moods of her betters, raised herself to the lofty status of Lady's maid at Alderwick Park. Though her mother has advised Alice to work only until marriage, Alice has thus far resisted the temptations of matrimony among the neighboring widowers and pig farmers, more content to enjoy the fruits of her labor--or at least the portion of it her father will share after it is paid to him. Alice spends her days arranging Lady Jemima Alderwick's blond hair into the latest French styles, chignons and plaits, laundering her lady's surprisingly malodorous petticoats and drawers, and carefully sewing all manner of fripperies, ribbons, lace, and silk flowers, to her lady's bonnets and gowns. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut when a visiting servant, a valet named Charlie Wells, catches her eye, Alice begins to understand the constraints of her position. In a ploy to spend time with the object of her affection, Alice attempts to arrange a romance between Lady Jemima Alderwick and Charlie's employer, one Baronet Sir Nigel Wynstowe. If only they would fall in love--then Alice and Charlie might live together as man and wife! Challenged by Lady Jemima's love for another and Sir Nigel's eccentric personality, Alice must use all of her cunning to bring this unlikely romantic union. Will this low-born servant successfully manipulate the hearts of these lords and ladies? Will Charlie and Alice ever improve their stations? Or, as the beginning of women's suffrage begins to percolate in the drawing rooms and salons of London, will Alice discover a different sort of path for herself? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA deliciously funny, gorgeously detailed, utter enthralling novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Perfect Hand \u003c\/i\u003eis a glorious novel of class, gender, and England on the cusp of enormous change.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAYELET WALDMAN is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life, \u003c\/i\u003e the novels \u003ci\u003eLove and Treasure\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRed Hook Road\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLove and Other Impossible Pursuits\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eDaughter's Keeper\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as of the essay collection \u003ci\u003eBad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace\u003c\/i\u003e and the Mommy-Track Mystery series. She is the editor of \u003ci\u003eInside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women's Prisons\u003c\/i\u003e and of the forthcoming \u003ci\u003eKingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation.\u003c\/i\u003e She was a Federal public defender and an adjunct professor at the UC Berkeley law school where she developed and taught a course on the legal implications of the War on Drugs. She lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband, Michael Chabon, and their four children.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 9.1 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 19, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLarge Print:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44755543883911,"sku":"9798217287864","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/k7nqLEfv7e9798217287864.webp?v=1780112880","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/a-perfect-hand-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}