The Confession by Jessie Burton review - an understated triumph
(The Guardian Culture News)

The secret history of a reclusive novelist is revealed in a study of motherhood and creativity by the author of The MiniaturistJessie Burton´s previous novel featured an artist and her muse; this follow-up concerns a writer and her amanuensis. Constance Holden is a reclusive novelist with a formidable reputation who has published nothing for more than 30 years. Now in her 70s and crippled with osteoarthritis, she employs a young woman called Laura Brown as a housekeeper and secretary. Laura assures her that she´s the patient type. `Then I´ll call you the patient typist,` Constance replies.Readers of Burton´s fiction may notice the continuation of a theme, as The Muse similarly began with a young woman being employed as a typist by an inscrutable female art historian. It´s perhaps also worth noting that Burton herself worked as a PA in the City before the publication in 2014 of her million-selling debut, The Miniaturist, so has first-hand experience of supporting herself in a menial role while quietly composing a piece of art. Continue reading...