Carnegie's Maid

In 1863 Clara Kelley steps off the boat that took her from Ireland and brought her to Pennsylvania. Assuming the identity of a fellow passenger who had died onboard, Clara is transported to Pittsburgh to become the ladies maid of one, Mrs. Carnegie, the mother of Andrew Carnegie. Using this fictional character, we are allowed into the inner workings of the family, his mother and his younger brother Tom. It is an interesting account, as we follow the household, learning how the Carnegies came up from the poverty of their Scottish homeland to the beginnings of their wealth in America. Andra, as his mother calls him, is the dynamic behind the wealth, his perseverance and determination to become very rich, building the iron and steel industry from the ground up. Clara on the other hand has to keep her secret, keep her own identity to herself lest she loses her position. Clara, strong and determined, has come to America on the chance of finding a job that will allow her to send much needed funds back to her family in Ireland The story afforded the glimpse into what it was like in the late 19th century, the disparity between the classes, those who served and those who were served. Over time Clara and Andrew develop a quiet relationship, but one that would only lead to problems given the class difference and one that would never survive. Perhaps she (or someone like her in real life) was the catalyst for his philanthropies.

The book is well written, the research right on point! All too soon I had finished the book, enjoying it from the first page to the last. My thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a tale focusing quite a bit on class distinction in the 1860's that involves a young woman immigrating to America. Clara Kelley arrives in Pittsburgh in hopes of securing employment that will help her impoverished family back home in Ireland. After assuming the identity of another young woman who died at sea on her way to America she finds work as a lady's maid in the prestigious Carnegie family, a family that has made their own mark in society rising up from abject poverty to becoming one of the richest families in their time. Working as the lady's maid to Andrew Carnegie's mother Clara begins to develop a subtle relationship with Andrew but fearing the loss of her job and income she desperately needs for her family she refuses to cross the line between master and servant. This was nicely written and atmospheric of the era when immigrants were trying to escape the poverty of their homelands seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

Thank you to author Marie Benedict and NetGalley for providing this in exchange for my review.

This historical fiction is compelling. Filled with famous names from USA history, and an interestingly woven story.
Characters are well developed, and likable. A good read...recommended

This historical fiction book about Andrew Carnegie and his mother's maid really gave me an insight into the US at the turn of the century when the first wave of immigrants who had made it were really coming into their own. The book was full of great historical facts built around this story of the Carnegie family. I enjoyed the pace of the book and learning the historical facts. I didn't always believe the story being told about Clara and Andrew but there was enough there that it kept me engaged until the end of the book!

Imagine that your family sends you (alone) to the U.S. because of financial hardship in Ireland and you will need to support your relatives back home. Imagine that you are able to take on someone else's identity to become the servant of Andrew Carnegie's mother. Will you be found out? Will your position be secure? These are among the premises of this richly detailed historical novel. Relationships between upstairs and downstairs, specifically between Clara and Andrew Carnegie are a major part of this novel. Read it too to learn more about the business world and women's roles in the post Civil War U.S. Overall, an enjoyable read.

I loved everything about this book. Clara Kelly is sent to the US to help support her family. She is mistaken for a different Clara Kelly and ends up a ladies maid to Mrs. Carnegie. She develops a relationship with Andrew Carnegie and is ultimately the impetus behind his philanthropy. A little drama, a little romance, and a well told story made a six hour flight fly by. Highly recommend.

Excellent historical book! Very intriguing storyline with excellent characters!

Carnegie's Maid is such a fascinating read! I must admit I didn't know much about the Carnegie family or this time in history, and I loved learning about it through the fictional story of Clara Kelly and Mr. Carnegie. Their love story was beautifully portrayed in this book and the insider details about what it was like to work for a wealthy household were captivating. Carnegie's Maid is a great read for anyone who is a fan of historical fiction.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

When Clara Kelly steps off the ship she is so thrilled to be on solid ground, it is not difficult to follow the sound of her name being called. She easily falls into a carriage headed for Pittsburgh in the shoes of another Clara Kelly who did not survive the ocean crossing. Suddenly swept up into a world she never imagined, Clara finds herself as a ladies maid for Mrs. Carnegie, the stern but brilliant mother of Andrew, industrialist and business magnate. Clara, daughter of an Irish farmer that insisted his girls be highly educated, begins an unexpected friendship with Andrew. As her teacher and mentor the two fall into a pattern of trust and honesty that is rarely found between a man and a woman at the time, certainly outrageous for a servant and master of the house. While Clara sends money home to help her struggling family, she is burdened by her own secrets and dreams of a future where she can be free to work and thrive. Once again, incredible author Marie Benedict brings history to life with this intriguing, emotional, deeply touching story of America and the dreams it holds for us all. Highly recommend this incredible new novel. A must read!!

An interesting view of life as an immigrant in the 1860''s.

Benedict has penned a thoroughly entrancing novel highlighting a forbidden romance between nouveau riche Andrew Carnegie and his mother’s lady’s maid, Clara Kelley. Clara arrived in America after being sent from her native Ireland to find work so that she could send some funds back to her family and help support them as they struggled to keep their land in 19th century Ireland.

After crossing the Atlantic to land in Philadelphia, Clara is stunned when someone is calling her name. Taking a chance at financial security and a job, Clara takes the place of another Clara Kelley who ostensibly died on the voyage across the Atlantic and was to take a position as a lady’s maid in Pittsburgh.

After her arrival in Pittsburgh, Clara is determined to learn everything she can to be the best lady’s maid possible to Mr. Carnegie, mother to the famously wealthy Andrew Carnegie. Though the Carnegie’s left their poverty in Scotland behind and have amassed enormous wealth in America, Mrs. Carnegie is still unsure how to best assimilate into polite society and privately relies on Clara, a well-educated but poor Irish woman, to assist her.

Despite Mrs. Carnegie’s apparent indifference to Clara in public, she develops a dependence on the maid who sees to her every need. But she knows little of Clara’s burgeoning friendship with Andrew, a man who seems to admire Clara’s candor and her desire to understand how he achieved his success in business.

As her family’s living conditions in Ireland deteriorate, Clara remains more determined to do nothing to jeopardize her job and distances herself from Andrew. Yet the constant allure between them is an ever-present force that neither can ignore.

Though romance between servants and their masters is a common enough theme in historical novels, Benedict has created a novel that achieves what few others in the same genre have achieved-her protagonists’ desire for one another is based upon a shared intellectual nature that is carefully combined with physical desire yet is even more alluring than physical desire alone.

As Benedict explores the pitfalls of such a relationship between Clara and Andrew, she develops a masterful cast of characters in this winning storyline which is both mesmerizing and intensely riveting.

This book was difficult for me to get into. I like historical fiction and this author. Likely just me.

I really loved reading this book- Carnegie's maid by Marie Benedict. This is a book with 47 chapters and around 200 pages. The author has borrowed historical facts from her own family ancestry and created a captivating tale of America during the period of the civil wars.

The story begins with, well known figure, Andrew Carnegie, reminiscing about his past and the significant role played by his mother's maid in his life. Then we delve into the first person narrative of Clara Kelly, who is aboard a ship of immigrants mostly from Ireland. All of them, including herself, are enroute to America to seek various jobs to provide for their family back home.
Clara, especially, needs to undertake this journey to save her farmland from being seized by other rich landowners. Though Clara knows nothing about being a ladies maid, she quickly adpts to that role. There is some confusion, however, about the real Clara Kelly who actually happened to board the ship. The rest of the book is all about the discovery of the lifestyle in America of those days by Clara. She needs to adjust with a huge number of housestaff and educate herself on the tasks of looking after Mrs Carnegie. Having constant doubt as to her duties, she often steals down to the private library to look up books on that subject. She meets Andrew Carnegie in this way. Both of them bond over their love for books . But there are many obstacles to keep them apart. Mrs Carnegie disapproves of their relationship and the master-servant discrimination is a constant reminder of their differences. However, Andrew discovers that Clara is talented in areas of investment and assists her in some projects. As a result of this, Clara ends up making quite some money in the end. However this story ends tragically but Clara never forgets the legacy of Andrew Carnegie.

This book reads like a diary of sorts. You feel you are one with Clara, every step of the way. Apart from some confusion at the beginning of the book about the real and false Clara Kelly; this book is a delightful read which remains with the reader long after its completion.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted this book to be great but sadly it was just alright. I loved the historical aspect of the Carnegie family but the fictional aspect ruined it for me as it was pretty far-fetched. It was really difficult to read and I almost didn't finish it. I give it a 2.5 stars.

Clara Kelley needed to help her family financially since their 20-acre farm in Ireland was slowly being sold to pay their bills.

The best place her father thought she could be of help was in America. Since she was educated and not really suited to be a farmer's wife, off to America she went in search of work, but she was not sure why it was to be in servitude.

Clara made it across the ocean and into the household of the Carnegie family in Pittsburgh. She became the lady's maid for Mrs. Carnegie.

While there, Mrs. Carnegie's son, Andrew, became enamored with Clara because of her intelligence and love of reading. They always talked about books and having a library that is free to the public and the working man.

CARNEGIE'S MAID takes us through the everyday life of Andrew Carnegie, his brother, Tom, and their mother as they build their fortune. Andrew Carnegie was very philanthropic in his latter years.

This was the first book I have read by Ms. Benedict. Ms. Benedict has a beautiful, pull-you-in writing style. I enjoyed her prologue explaining why she wanted to write about the Carnegies.

CARNEGIE'S MAID flowed smoothly and had perfect detail. I live in Pittsburgh and enjoyed hearing the names of towns and streets.

CARNEGIE'S MADE kept me interested and engaged in the story line. It was an excellent read even though the maid Andrew fell in love with and the woman who influenced him is fictitious.

A thoroughly enjoyable book for historical fiction fans and those who want to learn about Andrew Carnegie. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was pleased to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of Carnegie’s Maid. I hadn’t known much about Carnegie, and I found this book very informative about him as well as life for both immigrants and the wealthy during the time period of the book. It was told from the point of view of an Irish immigrant maid which was a great vehicle to convey the story. I also appreciated that unlike most novels of this type (including Benedict’s previous book about Einstein’s wife), I wasn’t disillusioned about the “celebrity” after reading the book.

I think the author did an excellent job demonstrating what life was like both in the US and Ireland in the 1860s for people in all walks of life. The novelization made it a very pleasant and easy way to learn history. I recommend this book and think it would be a good choice for book discussion groups.

I really liked this book. It was well-written with interesting characters. I loved learning more about the Carnegie family and a little about history through their story. It was a little like Downton Abbey as you got to see and experience life for the wealthy and elite as well as for the immigrants and the poorer class that served them. I really enjoyed the author's perspective of showing strengths and intellect in both classes and how the two main characters grew to appreciate one another through those common strengths and interests. I did not want to put this book down and really found myself invested in the character's and their journey.

This book floated in and out of my feed for a while before I took the leap and decided to read it, and I'm so glad I did. The story of Andrew Carnegie and Clara is nothing short so spectacular. I'm not typically a history buff when it comes to books because they tend to be way to dry but this one isn't at all. It's captivating, intriguing and runs the border of trying to determine fact from fiction.

The cover is spectacular and I often found myself picturing a cross between Gone with the Wind and a history of industries.

Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read Carnegie's Maid early!

Carnegie's Maid, Marie Benedict

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Historical fiction

I like to read historical novels from time to time, usually with a romantic theme but not always. I saw this and it appealed, Marie has written a fictional account of what might have been....and it reads very true. 

The 1800's were a time of great poverty for so many, the divide between have and have not was vast, and whole families died of starvation, cold, illness for which they had little resistance. TBH for many at the top it was just considered part of Nature's Order, a weeding out of the weakest. That sounds awful doesn't it, but those who've never known poverty have no comprehension of what life is like that way.
Andrew Carnegie though has known poverty, but now as a man of wealth he's in danger of losing that feeling of empathy, or the desire to help those in need which so motivated him. 

I loved Andrew and Clara. She's fiercely intelligent, and so loyal to her family, putting their needs before here's always. she's a rarity, and educated woman and Andrew is fascinated by her grasp of business matters.
Slowly they come to mean more to each other, though the book hold true to the period, there is nothing more than glances, occasional fingertip touches, and meetings which skirt, but only just, convention so could be explained away.
 I loved the account of how Andrew grew his wealth, loved seeing how "new money" was still looked down upon by certain classes, that attitude still prevails in part here in UK!!
I loved how Andrew had the initial desire for wealth, to ensure his family were always secure but how he became seduced by it, wanting things he formerly scorned. Without Clara - or someone like her - what sort of man would he have become. 

The ending is sad, so sad, and I had tears. If only.....but its not classed as a romance, so the ending fits perfectly even if I did want a HEA. 
Its a lovely read, slow paced, so tragic in what we see of the families suffering, so difficult to get out of the trap of poverty.

Stars: 4.5, I really did want that HEA but the book is still a moving, interesting read despite that ;-) 
ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

Extremely well written story even though I do not entirely agree with the premise of the fictionalization of Andrew Carnegie's character. I found the fiction part of the story a little too far fetched and perhaps not as realistic as I'd like it to be considering the man I know Andrew Carnegie to be. Still an enjoyable read. I'd consider reading other works by Ms Benedict because her writing itself, and her storytelling is excellent.