A Countess Below Stairs

Author: Eva Ibbotson (383pg)


Publisher: Speak (Penguin Group)

Favorite Character: Anna-Her heart is worn on her sleeve and her honesty is incomparable. Anna deserves happiness because of her wonderfully optimistic outlook.

Summary: After the Russian Revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination. Desperate to keep her past a secret, Anna is nearly overwhelmed by her new duties-not to mention her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome Earl of Westerholme. To make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her as well. As their attraction grows stronger, Anna finds it more and more difficult to keep her most dearly held secrets from unraveling. And then there's the small matter of Rupert's beautiful and nasty fiancee. . .

Review: First off, the first 100 pages were a drag. The very beginning was okay, but the rest was quite unexciting. The characters, though, are amazing because it is original and interesting! Here we have a humble Russian countess working as a servant for the nice guy she's falling for. We have his promised wife who is really weird because eugenics are her thing(she's also goddess-like) and then we have an arrogant "doctor" who's bent on creating a bunch of perfect humans. I really liked the story even with those hundred pages. The author was descriptive, sometimes excessively, so you got a good handle on the scenes and sorroundings and some parts were really funny! I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a tale of old-fashion love with some interestingly serious obstacles.

Rating: 3.5 /5 - It's better than many, but the slowness in about a 1/3 of the book doesn't give it a 4 in my opinion.

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