54 likes
Purporting to be a "found document", this is a 600-page novel in blank verse, narrated by the titular Mary Ann, an orphaned serving girl with a hare lip who recounts her life from her childhood in the 1820s through to old age. Mary Ann is very far from being an imbecile - she is indeed an intelligent and perceptive chronicler of events, with a distinctive and unforgettable narrative voice. Wonderful.