Miss Nobody

A centenary edition of the 1913 novel, Miss Nobody, by Ethel Carnie (later Ethel Carnie Holdsworth), widely believed to be the first published novel written by a working-class woman in Britain. Miss Nobody charts the fortunes of the independent Carrie Brown, a former 'scullery drudge' turned oyster shop owner from Ardwick, Greater Manchester. Schooled in the popular romances of cheap yellow-backed novelettes, Carrie decides to sell up and leave the grey city of Manchester when she receives a surprising offer of marriage from a country farmer. The plot sees Carrie struggling to reconcile herself to the 'mixed up' reality of marriage and the loneliness of country life, and ultimately results in her striking out on her own. The story describes Carrie's picaresque adventures as she strives to find love and self-fulfilment in a harsh and oftentimes bitter world.