Nicola Kraus’ and Emma McLaughlin’s “The Nanny Diaries” is based on their real-life experience working for Manhattan’s rich and privileged families. Kraus’ and McLaughlin’s fictionalized account is told from the point of view of the women who know all the family secrets — the nannies.
Struggling to graduate from NYU and pay rent on her microscopic apartment, the main character, Nanny, takes a job caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved in ensuring that a Park Avenue wife who doesn’t work, cook, clean or raise her own child has a smooth day.
When the X’s marriage begins to disintegrate, it becomes Nanny’s nearly impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their 4-year-old, her own integrity and, most important, her sense of humor. Over nine tense months Mrs. X and Nanny perform the age-old dance of decorum and power as they test the limits of modern-day servitude.
Listen to Julia Roberts read an excerpt from “The Nanny Diaries” [Random House Audio] below.
