The raging war in Russia causes Anna, a countess, and her mother and brother to flee the country. Betrayed by their wet nurse the family is left penniless. They arrive in England to live with Anna’s former governess.Concealing her true identity Anna takes a job as a servant to help in her families finances, although she keeps it hidden from her mother and brother. The job is going swimmingly until Rupert, the Earl of Westerholme, arrives along with his fiancee. Against his better judgement, Rupert finds himself falling in love with Anna.Again, as with Dragon’s Keep, this was a book I had high hopes for and I was left with disappointment. Anna as a character seemed too perfect, she was perfect. There wasn’t any chemistry between her and Rupert, I didn’t encounter any of the instant attraction that the book summary suggests. At times I found myself lost in the reading. I liked the idea of the story, but again I think it was poorly executed. I liked this book, but I didn't by any means love it. If you are interested in reading it, I would still give it a try, hopefully you will end up liking it more than I did. ( )

The covers of Ibbotson's books really do not do justice to how good they are. Based on the cover, and the fact that it was in the youth section of the bookstore, I was expecting something along the lines of "nice-but-not-great." I was extremely pleasantly surprised and ended up devouring this book. Ibbotson writes really well, and if she degenerates into sentimentality or cliche every once in a while, her style more than compensates for it. A Countess Below Stairs follows Anna, a Russian countess who grows up pampered in the motherland, but the Russian Revolution forces her and her family to flee to England. To make money for her now-impoverished family, Anna takes a post as a maid at an aristocratic estate, where she quickly endears herself to the other staff members - as well as Rupert, the lord of the manor. I thought this was a really sweet, romantic story. Ibbotson does change points of view a lot (a lot; every character, even the most minor, gets to tell part of the story), but it didn't bother me because the transitions were very easy to follow, and the different accounts were able to reveal different aspects of the story. I loved to hate Muriel, Rupert's appalling fiancee (the parts on eugenics were so horrifying they were actually a little bit funny), and the characters in general were very well done. The only one who seemed slightly unbelievable, in fact, was Anna herself - she seems to be a flawless heroine. Sorry for the long review...I just really liked this book!

I just couldn't get into this book - 50 pages into it, I was sick of the uninteresting main character, not looking forward to what the book may hold and ended up flipping through it. Basically, it just had nothing that appealed to me. So I gave up on it - it's been a long time since I gave up on a book. ( )

The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson was initially published as A Countess Below Stairs, which after reading it I think would be a better title. Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna, Austria in 1925 but when the Nazis came to power, her family escaped to Britain. Many of her books allude to the struggles and loss experienced by people during the war and obviously she had first-hand experience of this.
The Secret Countess is the story of Anna Grazinsky, a Russian Countess who has to flee to Britain after World War I. Anna has come from a life of wealth and privilege, she was doted on by her father and had everything that she could ever have wished for. Her father is killed fighting and she and her mother make their way to Britain with Miss Pinfold, her governess. Anna's family has lost everything and she is too proud to live off the charity of Miss Pinfold and so she seeks a position as a housemaid at Mersham; family seat of the Westerholmes. Here she tries to fit in and works hard but it is clear to all that she has come from greater things. Ibbotson describes Merhsam in a very detailed way and the house is very much part of the story. Anna soon meets Rupert, the new Earl and he is totally mesmerised by her. However, Rupert has agreed to marry Muriel Hardwicke, an orphaned heiress who will provide the finances to secure Mersham's future. Hardwicke is the opposite of Anna; she is a snob and totally obsessed with Eugenics and the staff and Westeholme family members do not take kindly to her ways.
Rupert eventually finds out Anna's true identity and he is already in love with her, the situation seems hopeless with his impending nuptials fast approaching. However, the others surrounding Anna and Rupert devise a plan to save the future of both of them and also the house. The story is very reminiscent of Jane Eye except that Rupert has a much more affable character than Mr Rochester! I am so pleased that I have discovered Eva Ibbotson, her books have this fantastic romantic, fairytale quality to them but still have a lot of substance. ( )

This delightful book tells story of a young Russian Countess who is force to flee Russia after the revolution and ends up taking a job as a maid in an English country home. Essentially a charming Cinderella story, A Countess Below Stairs contains such beautiful and unexpected descriptions, well drawn characters and true emotions that it rises well above the standard fairy tale romance. It made me weep, it made me smile, and it was a nice change to read a story like this told about Russian emigres, who really did end up in jobs like Anna's and Sergei's. I highly recommend it. ( )