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After the Russian Revolution turns her world upside down, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as a servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family. Anna is overwhelmed by her new duties, and her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome Earl of Westerholme. To make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her, too. Anna finds it increasingly difficult to keep her secrets from unraveling; and then there's the small matter of Rupert's fiancée.… (more)
At first this book seemed too sugary-sweet, with Anna the main character too good to be true. Then we meet her foil, the too bad to be believed Muriel.
From this point on it's a battle of nice vs mean, and I found myself enjoying the rest of the book, along with Muriel's ultimate come-upance, largely as a result of her own snobbery.
Oh, it's fluff, alright, but such marvellous, hilarious, seductive fluff. What I love about Ibbotson's heroines is that they are rarely considered to be great beauties in their person, and they are utterly bewitching in their personalities. Anna is enchanting -- in her earnestness, in her odd pragmatism and in her wonderful kindness. ( )
The first 100 pages are a bit plodding but the ending is exceptional. Anna, the now-exiled Russian countess, takes work as a maid and charms the staff. Rupert, the Earl of Westerholme, needs a wealthy wife to pay the bills for Mersham, his ancestral estate. And Muriel, the orphaned daughter of wealthy non-aristocratic parents, wants a title.
In the fabled, glittering world that was St. Petersburg before the First World War there lived, in an ice-blue palace overlooking the river Neva, a family on whom the gods seemed to have lavished their gifts with an almost comical abundance.
Quotations
"Rupert, none of your servants are socialists, I hope?"
"Good heavens no, I shouldn't think so. I mean, I haven't asked. Surely you don't have to be a socialist to want to have a bath?"
"It often goes together," said Muriel sagely.
Last words
And Anna smiled and laid her hand lightly on the bright curls, and turned to walk steadily to where Rupert waited: a man who had passed beyond all doubt and uncertainty - a man who had come home.
After the Russian Revolution turns her world upside down, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as a servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family. Anna is overwhelmed by her new duties, and her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome Earl of Westerholme. To make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her, too. Anna finds it increasingly difficult to keep her secrets from unraveling; and then there's the small matter of Rupert's fiancée.
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Anna, a young countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England. Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to become a housemaid and she finds work at the Earl of Westerholme's crumbling but magnificent mansion. The staff and the family are sure there is something not quite right about their new maid - but she soon wins them over with her warmth and dedication. Then the young Earl returns home from the war - and Anna falls hopelessly in love. But they can never be together: Rupert is engaged to the snobbish and awful Muriel - and anyway, Anna is only a servant. Or so everybody thinks...
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