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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, Aug 27 2007
Anna Grazinsky is a member of the Russian aristocracy, or White Russians, during the Russian Revolution. Her family is forced to flee from their comfortable life in Russia to England, where they are safe from the revolutionaries. But in England, the Grazinskys are left with nothing. Anna has a very resilient spirit, and instead of moping around and wishing for her old life, she is grateful for the safety of her family and secretly takes a job as a maid so that her little brother can still attend school. With her take-charge attitude, Anna proves that not all rich girls are snobby brats, like modern heiresses lead us to believe.
While many of the servants at the Westerholme residence are skeptical of the new foreign girl, Anna quickly charms her way into their hearts. With her deep curtsies, bright smile, and cheerful demeanor, Anna is beloved by all. She does each task assigned to her as best she can, never slacking on the job.
When the young and handsome Earl of Westerholme returns home from World War I, Anna is immediately drawn to him. And it seems that he feels a similar attraction to her. But Anna's identity as a countess is still a secret, and she does not have the social standing that she once held in Russia. Plus, the Earl is already engaged to the beautiful but vicious Muriel Hardwicke. Muriel nursed Earl Rupert back to health when he was wounded in the war, and he proposed to her. But that was before he met Anna.
In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Muriel begins to take over the Westerholme household, arbitrarily firing servants that do not fit in with her vision for Westerholme. None of the servants or neighbors are fond of Muriel, and as the wedding date approaches, all of Rupert's friends and family are leery of the impending marriage.
At the costume ball thrown prior to the wedding, Anna's true identity as a countess is revealed, and Anna and Rupert dance the night away. Everyone can see that they are a perfect couple, but can Rupert and Anna come to terms with their feelings for each other before his marriage to Muriel?
Although A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS has a very fairytale-like romantic plot, Anna is far from the typical princess. She has a feisty spirit and genuinely fun personality that immediately draws you in. Eva Ibbotson does a great job in breathing life into the generic fairytale plot. Anna's story is very similar to what much of the Russian aristocracy experienced during the communist revolution, and Ibbotson shows that even though life is unpredictable and rarely kind, if you embrace all opportunities and make the most of your situation, you will find happiness.
Reviewed by: Amber Gibson
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Summary, Dec 4 2006
Anna's aristocratic family escaped the Russian revolution and arrived
penniless in England. Anna decides to help her family by working as a maid in the mansion of Rupert, the Earl of Westerholme, although, all the other servants recognize she is not from the serving classes.
The earl, in order to keep his family mansion, needs money and is engaged to marry wealthy Muriel. Meanwhile, the earl keeps encountering his delightful and unusual maid Anna. Because she has never been a servant before, she talks to the earl as an equal and they engage in warm, funny dialogue. They soon fall passionately in love. But it is 1919 and as an honourable gentleman, the earl cannot end the engagement. However, Anna and the other servants, continue to expose Muriel's character which is not only heartless and unethical but eventually revealed as a pro-Nazi.
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by Eva Ibbotson
by Eva Ibbotson
by Eva Ibbotson
by Eva Ibbotson
