The Lady of the Basement Flat
1917
The Lady of the Basement Flat, published in 1917 by George de Horne, Mrs. Vaizey, follows Evelyn Wastneys, who struggles with her identity after her sister Kathleen's marriage. To cope, she adopts the persona of Miss Harding, an elderly woman, and moves into a basement flat in a lower-class London neighborhood. Through her acts of kindness and interactions with her neighbors, Evelyn embarks on a journey of self-discovery, exploring themes of social class, personal sacrifice, and the search for belonging.
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“At three o'clock this afternoon Evelyn Wastneys died. I am Evelyn Wastneys, and I died, standing at the door of an old country home in Ireland...””
— George de Horne, Mrs. Vaizey
“Oh, how many mysteries there are around us! How wonderful, how absorbingly interesting it will be, when the time comes, to hear the explanation of all that seems so tangled to our present understanding!””
— George de Horne, Mrs. Vaizey
“You are the first woman”
— George de Horne, Mrs. Vaizey
