Home
/
Fiction
/
Nanny
Nanny
Nov 30, 2025 2:48 AM

Author:Charlotte Bingham

Nanny

Powerful and heart-wrenching; fans of Louise Douglas, Dinah Jefferies and Kristin Hannah will love this Edwardian saga by the million copy and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlotte Bingham.

"Charlotte Bingham's spellbinding novel is required reading" - COSMOPOLITAN

"Excellent stuff" -- COMPANY

"What a wonderful book-- I am feeling totally wrung out with emotion and I didn't want it to ever end." -- ***** Reader review

"Such an enchanting story...Nanny is a rich and memorable character you will carry in your memory once you finish the last page." -- ***** Reader review

"I have read most of Charlotte Bingham books and am never disappointed." -- ***** Reader review

*******************************************************************************

FROM MASTERLESS TO MISTRESS OF THE HOUSE. BUT CAN IT LAST?

1907: Beautiful and spirited, Grace Merrill seems to stand with the world at her feet until a family tragedy obliges Grace to enter a life in service at Keston Hall. It is a world of sadistic housekeepers, drunken butlers and genuine hardship and drudgery for those employed in servicing the few.

However, she soon discovers that she has another talent when she manages to escape from the kitchen to work as the family nanny. Here she learns to love Lady Lydiard's children as her own and revel in the isolated world of the nursery.

As time passes, war looms and change reaches out to touch the Hall, Grace grows to become not just the touchstone of the children's lives but in essence the mistress of the house itself.

Amidst all this, she has met the love of her life: Brake Merrowby. But is he the right man to give her the personal fulfilment she craves?

Reviews

'Charlotte Bingham's spellbinding saga is required reading'

—— Cosmopolitan

No writer since Lawrence has been so openly governed by what seems like powerful personal likes and dislikes, grievances, and by what appear to many as untenable prejudices

—— Amit Chauduri

What astonished me reading it this time round is the iconoclastic modernity of the novel... the sense of daring experiment.. I had entirely forgotten what drastic steps Lawrence was taking with character, for instance. Or with narrative (the novel proceeds cyclically). When this is combined with sexual overtness and a revolutionary call for the individual to achieve "Me-ness" in opposition to the nation, industry and war, we have a book that, appearing as it did in 1915, seemed genuinely disturbing

—— Adam Thorpe , Guardian

He was a big influence on me - I loved the seriousness and intensity he brought to his studies of human relationships, and the boldness with which he pushed the boundaries of what could be said and thought and written about in the novel

—— Andrew Davies

Yates's trademark blackness does not seem out of place or excessive... the skilful sketches of Prentice's colleagues bring an element of humanity to a sordid and inhumane topic

—— Leyla Sanai , www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com

Mesmerically readable... A revelation

—— The Times

A shocking backdrop if recent historical events, Andrea Eames has used a fresh, candid voice to create an intimate, sensitive and moving debut novel

—— Tina Jackson , Metro

In this assured debut novel, Eames draws on her own interrupted childhood...to paint an authentic portrait of a nation on the edge

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent

The Cry of the Go-Away Bird is a promising debut novel, and Eames's own Zimbabwean childhood colours her writing with vivid descriptions of the earth, wildlife and Shona language

—— Syndicated Review across National Press

Diary of an Ordinary Woman is certainly more gripping and more immediate than many novels...Forster has pulled off an imaginative feat

—— Literary Review

Captivating... Like a beloved granny's visit, we're a little bit sorry to see the end approaching

—— Irish Times

This rich novel, full of pathos, concerns the unbridgeable gaps between generations

—— Daily Telegraph

Faulks's most vivid character is the odious John Veals, a hedge-fund manager, who relishes all the money that he makes and the power that he quietly exerts... Veals is brilliantly insidious... A thoughtful page-turner... The handsome sunset is heavily, and rightly, weighed down by dark clouds

—— The Times

A tragedy at sea, a miracle on paper... Moore offers us, elegantly, exultantly, the very consciousness of her characters. In this way, she does more than make us feel for them. She makes us feel what they feel, which is the point of literature and maybe even the point of being human.

—— Globe and Mail

This mesmerising book is full of tears, and is a graceful meditation on how to survive life's losses

—— Marie Claire

Fans of Anita Shreve and Anne Enright will love this

—— Viv Groskop , Red Magazine

The gentle, meandering pace of this exquisitely expresses the agony of grief and the confusions and complexities of parental love

—— Easy Living

Moore's portrayal of loss is remarkably real

—— Clare Longrigg , Psychologies

Profoundly moving, beautifully written book

—— Waterstone's Books Quarterly

A marvellous book

—— Winnipeg Free Press

A perfectly pitched novel that captures its characters and their dilemmas.

—— Woman and Home

Lose yourself in a fantastical gastronomical journey ... This novel explores familial love in an unexpected way, and you'll be hooked from the first taste

—— She

This emotional and moving tale blew us away with its beauty

—— Bella

It's as beautiful as it is strange. Bender writes such lyrical sentences, you pause over them in wonder. She has an unusual take on life; and makes even the ordinary extraordinary. It's a compulsive page turner. This book is already a best seller in America, and has been embraced by book clubs. I loved it. It's one of those books you don't want to finish - and even when you have - it stays in your mind. Bender has written three previous novels. I intend to savour them all

—— Irish Examiner

This novel, in the style of stories like Chocolat, is a dreamy feast of gorgeous writing ... Gently, beautiful, odd, this is a story to sip and savour

—— Dublin Evening Herald

An intriguing premise for an original novel about a family and its relationships

—— Good Book Guide

Moving and highly original, this book will make you look at food in a whole new light

—— Star
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved