{"product_id":"a-perfect-hand","title":"A Perfect Hand","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAYELET WALDMAN is the author of \n\u003ci\u003eA Really Good Day, Love and Treasure\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eRed Hook Road\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eLove and Other Impossible Pursuits\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eDaughter's Keeper\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eBad Mother \u003c\/i\u003eand the Mommy-Track Mystery series. She co-developed and was an Executive Producer on the Netflix series \n\u003ci\u003eUnbelievable, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich received a Peabody Award and Best Limited Series nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Primetime Emmys in 2020. Waldman lives in Berkeley, California with her husband Michael Chabon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\" \n\u003ci\u003eA Perfect Hand\u003c\/i\u003e is a work of historical fiction set amid the byzantine rules of class and etiquette among the wealthy in Victorian England, and --most crucially -- those they employ. . . . What's not to like?\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Ayelet Waldman's felicitous Victorian-era novel is an intricately told upstairs-downstairs saga with splendid characters. . . . Waldman's earnest, romantic romp also manages to squeeze in details of the early women's suffrage movement in England. The book soars with pitch-perfect prose, wit, and insight. \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"What starts as a classic marriage plot . . . evolves into a very different, more complex story. Alice [Lockey], you see, has been reading about the burgeoning women's rights movement in her 19th-century England. And maybe, just maybe, she has begun to imagine a future for herself that -- gasp! -- might not involve marriage after all.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e --NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"[A] romp of a novel. . . . Waldman's writing is clever and witty, and her characters thoroughly entertaining in their quirks and foibles. . . . This is a romance turned on its head, a comedy addressing important concerns, [with] a few surprises thrown in at the end.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHistorical Novel Society \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Pitch-perfect. . . . A very fun upstairs-downstairs novel.\" \n\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBook Riot, \u003c\/i\u003e\"Most Anticipated Books of 2026\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A captivating historical drama, an appealing romance, and a story of political awakening, cleverly packaged as a novel of manners. This shapeshifter reads as an engaging and witty work of escapism until it turns to more serious-minded concerns, while never losing its charm. . . . With a nod to Jane Austen but a firm focus on the servant class, this versatile novel will entertain and stay with readers long past its final pages.\" \n\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eA Perfect Hand \u003c\/i\u003eis an absolute delight and a joy to read. This novel showcases Ayelet Waldman's many gifts--her humor, her storytelling prowess, her wisdom about human nature, and her passion for social justice. All wrapped up in an irresistible love story. I couldn't put it down.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--J. Courtney Sullivan, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Cliffs\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I tore through this clever, big-hearted upstairs-downstairs novel about ambition, desire, and women's place in the world, charmed and delighted on every page. With a voice that feels both borrowed from the 19th century and entirely her own, Ayelet Waldman gives us a servant's story full of wit, yearning, and moral bite. Inventive, sparkling, and slyly subversive.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Christina Baker Kline, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Exiles \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I was in want of a captivating book, and I found one in \n\u003ci\u003eA Perfect Hand. \u003c\/i\u003eAyelet Waldman's clever, fast-paced historical romp turned out to be not only great fun but also surprisingly stirring. This book is a pleasure.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e --Meg Wolitzer, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Female Persuasion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An \n\u003ci\u003eamuse bouche\u003c\/i\u003e of a novel with an astringent feminist bite. Waldman twists the conventions of the 19th century novel for a result that is part homage, part satire, entirely fun.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Geraldine Brooks, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eMemorial Days \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Somehow feeling entirely of 2026 and of two centuries past, Ayelet Waldman's \n\u003ci\u003eA Perfect Hand \u003c\/i\u003eis rich in detail and compelling in plot. A narrator relates the story of Alice and Charlie with a lively tone, adding wry and witty observations and notes of warning to the reader. This conceit sharpens the novel's commentary on class, gender and power. \n\u003ci\u003eA Perfect Hand\u003c\/i\u003e reminds readers both of how much of our current discourse is echoed in the past, and of how important it is for one to stand up for one's beliefs--and for those around one, too.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--BookPage \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[A] hilarious commentary on the foibles of the rich. Readers who want a look downstairs or who want a story in which a character learns that there is more to want than a good enough job will enjoy the hell out of \n\u003ci\u003eA Perfect Hand\u003c\/i\u003e.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--A Bookish Type\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"If Jane Austen and Nora Ephron collaborated, they might produce something close to this new novel by Waldman. . . . Witty, frothy, and ultimately wise. . . . Sometimes a Victorian-era caper, replete with crinolines and coiffures, carries a shockingly important purpose beneath its skirts.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Jane Austen-esque . . . . Rollicking. . . . Waldman speaks in a graceful, authentic voice about Victorian England's lifestyles, horrors, and frivolities. She honors women's empowerment while relishing the tropes of the romance genre. . . . She has dealt readers a truly winning hand.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\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 nineteenth-century England. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Ayelet Waldman's clever, fast-paced historical romp turned out to be not only great fun but also surprisingly stirring. This book is a pleasure.\" \u003cbr\u003e --Meg Wolitzer, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Female Persuasion\u003c\/i\u003e\n\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. \n\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 Wynstowe's eccentric personality, Alice must use all of her cunning to bring about 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? \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA deliciously funny, gorgeously detailed, utter enthralling novel, \n\u003ci\u003eA Perfect Hand \u003c\/i\u003eis a glorious novel of class, gender, and England on the cusp of enormous change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 02\/01\/2026 pg. 55 (EAN 9781101875346, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/09\/2026 (EAN 9781101875346, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/15\/2026 (EAN 9781101875346, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/span\u003e 12\/30\/0001 (EAN 9781101875346, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781101875346, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Knopf Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496156004630,"sku":"9781101875346","price":33.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781101875346.jpg?v=1783054314","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/a-perfect-hand","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}