Tuesday, January 7th, 2020

2019/135: The Secret Countess -- Eva Ibbotson [reread]
"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. [p. 122]


A reread of an old favourite: Ibbotson's romances are now published as YA, but when I originally read them they were marketed as general romance. They are all delightful, but I think this -- initially published as A Countess Below Stairs -- is one of my favourites. It's the story of Anna Grazinsky, a countess who has fled the Russian Revolution with her impoverished mother and younger brother, and finds work as a housemaid at Mersham, the stately home of Rupert, Earl of Westerholme.
minor spoilers )

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