Carnegie's Maid: A Novel!

What a disappointment. Was absolutely thrilled with the Large Type. Wonderful for these old eyes. Sadly the book reads like a trumped up Harlequin romance. A silly waste of time & money.

fantastic .. interesting

Beautifully written book. Loved the characters and how they developed. Loved how Clara put her own wishes aside to help her family. Being an immigrant myself, I could absolutely put myself in Clara's shoes.

Doesn’t even deserve one star. A really unfortunate book club pick. Predictable plot: smart woman works for and falls in love with rich guy then becomes his intellectual partner in oligarchy. Much mirror gazing. Tedious doesn’t begin to describe the shortcomings of this doorstop.

I hadn’t read any Marie Benedict novels, and knew nothing about her, before reading The Only Woman in the Room. The book was a delight to read, so I was excited to follow it up with Carnegie’s Maid. This one did not disappoint! As an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon and with a longstanding interest in the industrial history of Pittsburgh, I was drawn to the setting and era in which the story takes place. Benedict’s descriptions of the filth and poverty of the city juxtaposed against the wealth are written in such masterful detail. The story’s topics of wealth inequality and immigration challenges remain relevant even today. Clara, the protagonist, is strong, likeable, intelligent and relatable, much like Hedy in The Only Woman in the Room. I loved Benedict’s diplomatic rendering of Andrew Carnegie, whose reputation as an ambitious, somewhat greedy “robber baron” has, in my opinion, always been too one-sided. She paints a more nuanced and complex picture of Carnegie as a young man, with redeeming and attractive traits; the playful dialogue between Carnegie and Clara make him more human and fallible as well. Can’t wait to read another Marie Benedict novel!