| My Cleaner | |
| Author: | Maggie Gee |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Publisher: | Saqi Books |
| Release Date: | 2005 |
| Media Type: | |
| Pages: | 318 |
| Isbn: | 0-86356-544-1 |
My Cleaner is a novel by English author Maggie Gee. It was first published in 2005 by Saqi Books and concerns racism and family life.[1] According to Bernardine Evaristo it was her best novel to that date.[2]
Maggie Gee visited Uganda in 2003, sponsored by the Cheltenham Literature Festival's 'Across Continents' commission and a Society of Authors grant,[3] and the novel features many scenes set in that country. The story is continued in My Driver (2009).[4]
The story is told from the viewpoint of Vanessa Henman, an English writer, and Mary Tendo Ugandan graduate of Makerere University. Vanessa's 22-year-old son Justin refuses to get out of bed with depression. Justin asks for Mary who looked after him as a child so Vanessa writes to her. Mary returns to London to help Justin, but this time not as a cleaner...