THE SERVANTS' QUARTERS by Lynn Freed, 2009.
A slight story, set in South Africa after World War II. Interesting and strange little story that concerns a young Jewish girl living with her mother, sister and comatose father down the hill from the Harding mansion. Cressida and her family are invited to live in the mansion's servants' quarters when they have to leave their home, and George Harding, a former RAF pilot who was injured and disfigured during the war, takes an interest in the intelligent and precocious girl. Eventually, she is hired by Harding to serve as a companion to his elderly mother and for his nephew and he appoints himself her mentor; however, his interest in her changes over the ensuing years. And as Cressida matures, her interest in Mr. Harding develops as well. Issues of class, status, and race add a sense of time and place to the story, and the author uses elements of Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast to good effect throughout. Well written and a pleasant read.