The Downstairs Girl

The Downstairs Girl (2019) is a work of young adult (YA) historical fiction by Stacey Lee. The unusual coming-of-age story features 17-year-old Jo Kuan, a Chinese American girl trying to assert her identity in the context of racist and gender-based biases in 1890s Atlanta. Jo’s life is turned upside down when she decides to moonlight as a secret advice column writer, while working as a lady’s maid by day. Dispensing radical and witty advice that creates ripples, Jo also embarks on a journey to save her adoptive father from Atlanta’s most notorious criminal and to unearth the secrets of her true parentage. In the process, she finds love and support from unexpected quarters. The Downstairs Girl became a New York Times bestseller within weeks of its release in 2019 and was the Reese's Book Club Late Summer 2021 YA pick. The author, Stacey Lee, has also authored Under a Painted Sky (2016) and Outrun the Moon (2016). A fourth-generation Chinese American and a founding member of the We Need Diverse Books movement, Lee often writes about those on the margins of society.

This study uses the Piatkus Books (Little Brown) 2019 paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text deals with incidents of anti-Black and anti-Chinese racism and also contains brief allusions to sexual harassment.

Plot Summary

Jo Kuan, a 17-year-old Chinese American girl, lives undocumented with her adoptive father Old Gin in a secret basement under the printing shop owned by the Bells, who run the progressive newspaper, the Focus. Jo has spent much of her childhood listening to the comforting sounds of the Bell family through a secret listening tube. The Bells are unaware that Jo and Old Gin live under their home.

After Jo is fired from her job as a hatmaker’s apprentice, Old Gin secures a position for her as a lady’s maid at the home of the Paynes, the family for whom he has long worked as a groomsman. Jo is dismayed as Caroline, the daughter of the Paynes, has always been rude to her.

One evening, Jo overhears the Bells discuss the dwindling readership of the Focus. She decides to help out by writing an anonymous agony aunt column under the pseudonym “Miss Sweetie.” As Miss Sweetie, Jo puts out her progressive stance on issues like race-segregation, women’s rights, and marriage. The column becomes a huge success.

The Paynes are holding a horse race for charity. Jo’s life is upended when she discovers two things: Old Gin is planning to compete in the race so he can get the prize money of $300; and a letter he has been hiding from someone called Shang. When Jo decides to investigate, she finds Old Gin is being chased by a notorious fixer called Billy Riggs. Old Gin owes Riggs $300 on behalf of the mysterious Shang. Jo goes to confront Riggs and he tries to assault her. She is helped by Nathan, the son of the Bells, who has followed her to Riggs’s brothel. Nathan promises to keep Jo’s identity as Miss Sweetie a secret. Meanwhile Caroline’s engagement gets broken off, as there is a rumor she is Mrs. Payne’s daughter out of wedlock.

As Miss Sweetie’s advice turns more radical, a clamor begins to unearth the person behind the column, worrying Jo. Since she and Old Gin are Chinese, they are not allowed to own or rent land and work in white-collar jobs such as the newspaper trade. Jo glimpses Mrs. Payne’s handwriting and finds it the same as the letter addressed to Shang. Jo suspects Mrs. Payne did have an illicit daughter, but that it is Jo herself, rather than Caroline. Mrs. Payne confirms her suspicion. Mrs. Payne had an affair with Shang, a Chinese groom at her stables. Mrs. Payne gave the infant Jo away to Old Gin, Shang’s father. Old Gin knew the love affair had no future and asked Shang to leave Georgia. Old Gin kept the secret from Jo to protect her. Old Gin is dealing with Riggs because he wants to buy back a lucky heirloom that Shang had pawned years ago to get Mrs. Payne a gift.

Old Gin is injured in a fight with Riggs’s henchman and can no longer compete for the horse race. Jo decides to take his place. She also discloses to the Bells that she and Old Gin have been living under their house. The Bells host Old Gin and Jo at their home while Old Gin recovers. Riggs tells Jo she can have the heirloom back if she defeats a particular horse in the race. However, during the race she discovers Riggs has set her up to lose. Jo wins anyway, though her victory is judged a tie. The prize money helps her get back the heirloom and save for the future. The Bells offer her an additional job as a researcher and typesetter.

At the end of the novel, Jo and Old Gin are living happily in the renovated basement. Jo finds love with Nathan. Though she may not officially be able to marry Nathan as interracial marriage is illegal in Georgia, she knows she has found family and friendship with the Bells.