Review: A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
I picked this up on a whim on my latest jaunt to the library and I am glad I did. I really enjoyed this book, it was so much fun. It was like a mix of Downton Abbey and Anastasia, and who doesn't want that?
It is about Anna, a young Russian countess, whose family is forced to flee Russia during the revolution, and like so many of their countrymen they end up in London. Here they must find jobs to support themselves, often ending up in service to families who would once upon a time have been their quals.
Anna finds a job as a housemaid in a big house in the country. This house is preparing for the weeding of its owner, the young Earl, who is marrying a heiress, partly out of love, partly to save the house from being closed down and sold off. Needless to say Anna and the earl, Rupert, hit it off, but he is forced to choose between following his heart or his mind.
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book. They might seem a little caricatured, like Anna is the upbeat, always positive hardworking enthusiast everyone ends up loving, Rupert is weighed down by the responsibility of trying to keep the house up and running, and marrying for money in a classic poor English gentleman marries rich wannabe snob setup, the butler is immensely staunch and strict etc. But it works, and most of them do have moments where they step out of the stereotype, so in the end they seem more well rounded.
As for the plot it is a classic romance with misunderstandings, slow growing love and coming across each other at opportune moments bathing in forest lakes and such, but again, it works.
If you like Downton Abbey I really think you would enjoy this book. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 on Goodreads, because it was so much fun, but I did lack just a tiny bit of depth.
It is about Anna, a young Russian countess, whose family is forced to flee Russia during the revolution, and like so many of their countrymen they end up in London. Here they must find jobs to support themselves, often ending up in service to families who would once upon a time have been their quals.
Anna finds a job as a housemaid in a big house in the country. This house is preparing for the weeding of its owner, the young Earl, who is marrying a heiress, partly out of love, partly to save the house from being closed down and sold off. Needless to say Anna and the earl, Rupert, hit it off, but he is forced to choose between following his heart or his mind.
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book. They might seem a little caricatured, like Anna is the upbeat, always positive hardworking enthusiast everyone ends up loving, Rupert is weighed down by the responsibility of trying to keep the house up and running, and marrying for money in a classic poor English gentleman marries rich wannabe snob setup, the butler is immensely staunch and strict etc. But it works, and most of them do have moments where they step out of the stereotype, so in the end they seem more well rounded.
As for the plot it is a classic romance with misunderstandings, slow growing love and coming across each other at opportune moments bathing in forest lakes and such, but again, it works.
If you like Downton Abbey I really think you would enjoy this book. I gave it 4 stars out of 5 on Goodreads, because it was so much fun, but I did lack just a tiny bit of depth.
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