St. Martin's Griffin
March 2003
On Sale: March 18, 2003
Featuring: Nanny; Mrs. X
320 pages ISBN: 0312291639 EAN: 9780312291631 Kindle: B000FA5S6Q Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Wanted:
One young woman to take care of four-year-old boy. Must be
cheerful, enthusiastic and selfless—bordering on
masochistic. Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a
deliberately nap-deprived preschooler. Must love getting
thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his
family. Must enjoy the delicious anticipation of
ridiculously erratic pay. Mostly, must love being treated
like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag. Those
who take it personally need not apply.
Who wouldn’t want this job? Struggling to graduate from NYU
and afford her microscopic studio apartment, Nanny takes a
position caring for the only son of the wealthy X family.
She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved to
ensure that a Park Avenue wife who doesn’t work, cook,
clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day.
When the Xs marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up
involved way beyond the bounds of human decency or good
taste. Her tenure with the X family becomes a nearly
impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their
four-year-old, her own integrity and, most importantly, her
sense of humor. Over nine tense months, Mrs. X and Nanny
perform the age-old dance of decorum and power as they test
the limits of modern-day servitude.