The Housemaid's Daughter: A Novel

In 1919, Cathleen Harrington leaves Ireland to marry Edward, a man she does not love and has not seen in five years. Isolated in a small town in South Africa's Karoo desert, she finds companionship in her diary and her housemaid, and later in the housemaid's daughter, Ada. When Ada is born, Cathleen discovers in her a connection she cannot form with her own family. Under Cathleen's guidance, Ada becomes an accomplished pianist and reader. Ada discovers Cathleen's diary and learns the secrets within it, and the two grow increasingly close. Ada begins to envision new possibilities for her life. One night, everything changes—Ada disappears, rejected by her community. Cathleen must decide whether to accept society's expectations or search for the girl who has become more important to her than her own daughter. Set in Apartheid-era South Africa, the novel portrays the relationship between two women who seek love, hope, and redemption amid cruelty and division.