Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict | Book Review

Title: Carnegie's Maid
Author:  Marie Benedict
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Published Date: February 3rd, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult
Format: Audiobook

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Goodreads Summary: 
From the author of The Other Einstein comes the mesmerizing story of love, power, and the woman who inspired an American dynasty

In the industrial 1860s at the dawn of the Carnegie empire, Irish immigrant Clara Kelly finds herself in desperate circumstances. Looking for a way out, she seeks employment as a lady's maid in the home of the prominent businessman Andrew Carnegie. Soon, the bond between Clara and her employer deepens into love. But when Clara goes missing, Carnegie's search for her unearths secrets and revelations that lay the foundation for his lasting legacy. With captivating insight and stunning heart, Carnegie's Maid tells the story of one lost woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world's first true philanthropist.

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 My Review:

I originally got an e-arc on Netgalley, but I ended up reading the audiobook from my library.

“As Mrs. Barrett Browning says, ‘The world of books is still the world.”

 Going into this book I was a little nervous because of how loved this author is. After reading this one, I totally get the hype and I cannot wait to go back and read her debut book. 

Clara Kelly is such a realistic character. She's from a farming family in Ireland who has been hit hard by the potato famine and is now struggling to make ends meet. To try and fix this her parents decided that it would be best for one of their children to go to America and look for work there and then send money home. Clara was the one chosen and was able to get an amazing job by chance. Clara ends up working for the Carnegie family as a ladies maid to Andrew Carnegie's mother. This is something that she just has to learn and as she goes because of certain things. This part was a lot like other ladies maid stories, things get interesting though when she starts to become friends with Andrew. This friendship is a little weird I'll admit as he is her boss. Clara and Andrew have a friendship based on knowledge and there want to talk to one another about certain topics. Clara also sees it as possibly way for her to learn how to earn more money. I really enjoyed their conversations and how they really were friends despite the social rules that had been put in place to stop them. We also get to see Clara's cousins and how other immigrants from Ireland lived in America and how hard they had to work for so little. 

Overall I really did love this book. Seeing both high and low society at the same time. While also learning more about Mr. Carnegie was really fascinating to me. It was also very eye opening with how certain things have changed in America, yet so much is still the same. I highly recommend this book, and I know this review doesn't do it justice.