Nanny's book may smudge Madonna

A material witness is spilling the beans on life with the Material Mom - who was spotted house hunting yesterday on the East Side.

Melissa Dumas, a woman claiming to be a former nanny, has made a deal for a tell-all book on the ultra-private superstar - and it's expected to be an explosive read.

Dumas delves into the superstar's sometimes rocky marriage to Guy Ritchie, her controversial adoption of Malawian son David Banda, and her family's commitment to the teachings of kabbalah, reports Entertainment Weekly, which saw a copy of the proposal.

She's also planning to dish about Madge's alleged shabby treatment of her support staff.

World rights for the book have been picked up by the Crown Publishing Group, an arm of Random House, the Daily News has learned. Financial terms have not been released, but serialization of the book to magazines and newspapers around the world alone is expected to be worth a fortune.

Reports this year claimed Madonna was having a hard time filling a nanny post - largely because of her strict rules. A former butler who served at her palatial home in London told the News of the World of furious tantrums and claimed that Madge ruled her home with an iron fist.

If Madge was worried about the gossipy help, she sure didn't look it yesterday as she toured some of the hottest homes in New York. A $35 million Beaux-Arts limestone mansion on E. 62nd St. seemed to really catch her fancy. Built in 1902 by John Duncan, the same architect who designed Grant's Tomb, it offers ample room if she wants to adopt a village of kids: 14,700 square feet on six levels and a living room with 17-foot-high ceilings.

The mansion is just doors down from the former home of the late Dr. Nicholas Bartha, the deranged physician who blew his townhouse to smithereens over the summer.