Review of The Ladie Upstairs by Jessie Elland

From the mind of the iconic Emmerdale actress, comes one of the most original and captivating debuts I’ve read all year. Full of deliciously gross femgore and underpinnings of feminist folklore, The Ladie Upstairs is perfect for fans of weird literary fiction with plenty to sink your teeth into.

Scullery drudge Ann spends her days among the dregs of Ropner Hall. Born (she feels) to be a lady’s maid but forced to work with peasants and tolerate their crude and disgusting habits. But when the old lady’s maid is banished, Ann has the opportunity for her dreams to finally come true. Ropner’s Lady Charlotte offers her a glimpse into a life of luxury and so we begin our spinning tale.

Jessie Elland is a natural writer. I was hooked from the very first line and she had me in a chokehold the whole way through. I don’t want to give too much away plot-wise because I think elusiveness adds to the reading experience in this case but I loved the author’s ability to draw the reader in through visceral (and often gross) descriptions of smells and tastes. With some feminine body horror, a lot of this novel is an assault on the senses but the prose somehow remains beautiful and classically literary. With an unreliable narrator, the story warps around delusions and fantasies until the reader questions their own interpretations. This is a gripping exploration of the slipperiness of the psyche and a debut I would highly recommend.

Reviewed by Abi

Published on 22/05/25 by Baskerville

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