I've lived in Pittsburgh all of my life and I've read many books about Andrew Carnegie and his peers, so I was very interested to read this book, and it doesn't disappoint. Clara, an immigrant from Ireland, becomes a lady's maid in the Carnegie home, and we see 1860s Pittsburgh through her eyes. I think the thing that struck me the most was the difference between the Carnegies' lives and the factory workers who made their wealth for them. It was a pretty stark difference. The pollution described in the city was awful, and while I'm not old enough to remember the pollution, I do remember the mills closing and all the work that's gone on to clean up the area. So to read this book was fairly surreal for me. I was rooting for Clara the whole time, and the author does a really wonderful job of making you dislike/love Andrew Carnegie himself. No one knows why Carnegie suddenly became a philanthropist at the age of 33, but the author's take on it was a wonderful idea. Highly recommend!

I received this from NetGalley for an honest review.

Clara Kelly is a woman that happens upon a situation and turns it to her advantage. During her time as Mrs. Carnegie's lady maid she finds not only who she is but what she wants in life. The amount of research Marie Benedict had to do in order to get as much detail as she did in this book was phenomenal. From the etiquette of house servants, the social classes, the attitudes, dress and homes, it was easy to imagine just how everything appeared.

I didn't really enjoy this book fully until after I made it halfway through the book. There was too much detail, not enough character interaction between Clara and Andrew. As we were focused on Clara's struggle, it felt as though addressing her problems were an afterthought. Because her family had been mentioned before, the author had to do something to wrap up that bit of the story.

I did enjoy Clara and Andrew's interaction after getting through most of the book (even if some of them were completely unbelievable for the time period). I liked their stolen moments, the way Andrew saw Clara as a competent, business minded woman. The ending is what bothered me. It felt like there was a rush to meet a deadline and everything just hit a stop. The entire time I was reading Carnegie's Maid I felt like there was something missing. I still feel like there are chapters missing. The epilogue didn't wrap up Clara's story at all. This left me wanting and not in a good way.

Would I recommend this book to friends? Probably not.

I was given an advance copy of this book by NetGalley in order to give my honest opinion.

I should start by saying that I LOVE historic fiction. That being said, there were parts of this book that rated a 5 star and parts that rated much lower. Let me explain.

First, I found the parts about the Carnegie family fascinating, especially delving into their background and their immigrant roots, as well as the varied business interests.

The premise of the book was good, too---how did a man who would be easily described as a 'ruthless' businessman develop such a dedication to education, literacy, and the well-being of the poor? Benedict attempts to explain the reasons behind the dichotomy of Andrew Carnegie's personality.

However, the downside of this book is the almost juvenile story of "star-crossed" lovers. The premises behind the love story that could never be were weak and unbelievable.

Finally, there were themes and issues that seemed out of context for the time--i.e. a 20 year old Irish immigrant maid's concern about insider trading---I am pretty sure that that is a concept that came about at a much later date and even so, would not have been a concept understood by this woman.

All in all, the book was enjoyable and allowed insight into a very huge figure in our history.

Irish immigrant, Clara Kelley, takes the place of another immigrant who died on the journey across the sea and thus becomes made to Mrs. Carnegie. As Clara finds her footing, she strives to avoid the attention of the oldest Carnegie son.

Clara was a fascinating character to follow. She is aware of how much her family back in Ireland is depending on her and for awhile she does make a good effort to avoid Andrew's attention. The way she takes on the role of lady's maid without any experience was a little improbable, but life can be stranger than fiction sometimes so maybe its possible something like this could happen.

I don't feel like there was a clear view of Andrew Carnegie. At least, I didn't feel I came to know him at all by the end of the book. His willingness to discuss business with Clara also came a cross as improbable, but I tried to keep in mind this is fiction. Anything is possible in fiction, right?

Plot-wise, the story moves along at a nice pace. The end seemed a bit abrupt and jarring. Overall, I found it an interesting read and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy a unique look at a historical figure.

I loved this book. It's a definite best seller. Andrew Carnegie comes alive and he was certainly a fascinating character. It was written beautifully and the historical research was excellent.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a very quick read for me and that's what I liked most about it. The author, Marie Benedict, did a really good job of moving this story along which really kept me engaged and interested throughout. From the beginning, her description of "Clara's" journey from Ireland and how she stumbled upon the lady maid's role at the Carnegie household was full of twists and turns and was actually really fun to read. Benedict was able to paint a clear picture without boring the readers with minute, unnecessary details. She goes on to describe Clara's unique up and down relationship with Andrew that also kept me intrigued until the end. Speaking of the ending, I thought it was done very well as it gave me the closure that I was looking for. Fans of the PBS series, Downton Abbey, will devour this novel!

I have heard of the Andrew Carnegie story before but this title puts a different spin on how he became the iron magnate as well as the financier of many things. While this is indeed historical fiction, I greatly enjoyed the way that facts were interwoven with the fictional interpersonal relations.

This is a story about a maid falling in love with Andrew Carnegie and a special relationship they had. Except, I didn't feel this was true and it didn't help that the author explained right away that almost all parts of the story are pure fiction. Reading biographies and historical fiction brings me joy just when I imagine how something must have really happened. I didn't feel their connection was real. It was almost described as a crush someone has on a person they see passing by every day.

Clara is a bland character and nothing written about her didn't make me like her or dislike her, she was just plain. I see that she supposedly attracted a great businessman with her wits and intellectual conversation, but how is this different than a friendship? The progress of their relationship was slow and never reached any climax, so this really has no power for me.

Good thing about this book is the research that author clearly did before setting to write this historical piece. If you are interested in Carnegie's business endeavors, you are in for a treat. Other than that, you can enjoy other great love stories.

Interesting tale - Clara, Irish immigrant, lands on her feet after mistaken identity works in her favour. Mix this with the background of Andrew Carnegie, one of America's heroes - the epitome of the American dream- and you have the ingredients for an interesting and unusual historical novel.

Whilst on one level it appears that not much happens, this book provides a social history and an insight into the challenges faced by immigrants -- the American dream was not available to all.

4* Worth a read if you like historical fiction

DNF @63%

I loved the author's previous book, The Other Einstein and I remember being so excited, maybe even too excited when I got approved for this arc. Unfortunately, with my high expectations and actual pace of this story, this book isn't for me. I really think that lots of readers will love and appreciate it, but I think that I'll pass on this one altogether.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

This is the second book of Ms. Benedict's that I've read and I do think she creates interesting stories ... that's the point of 'historical fiction' .. part history & part fiction. The history portion is crafted from the question .. what made Andrew Carnegie give away his fortune? ... and the fictional portion is about a young woman (dare I say girl, really) that sails to America for the betterment of her family left behind in Ireland.

Once she arrived in America, Clara Kelley's life takes a turn she never could have expected. She is placed as a lady's maid to Mrs. Carnegie - Andrew Carnegie's mother. This gives her a challenging role ... common born but working in the lap of luxury. How does she balance seeing her extended family living in the sooty shadow of the iron foundries versus her life in the Carnegie mansion where every opulence exists? It's a very narrow road she walks and she has to decide whether to stay true to herself or continue in a servants role.

This made for very good reading and made me curious about Andrew Carnegie's life. Off to Google him some more! ......

This is the second book of Ms. Benedict's that I've read and I do think she creates interesting stories ... that's the point of 'historical fiction' .. part history & part fiction. The history portion is crafted from the question .. what made Andrew Carnegie give away his fortune? ... and the fictional portion is about a young woman (dare I say girl, really) that sails to America for the betterment of her family left behind in Ireland.

Once she arrived in America, Clara Kelley's life takes a turn she never could have expected. She is placed as a lady's maid to Mrs. Carnegie - Andrew Carnegie's mother. This gives her a challenging role ... common born but working in the lap of luxury. How does she balance seeing her extended family living in the sooty shadow of the iron foundries versus her life in the Carnegie mansion where every opulence exists? It's a very narrow road she walks and she has to decide whether to stay true to herself or continue in a servants role.

This made for very good reading and made me curious about Andrew Carnegie's life. Off to Google him some more! ......

Andrew Carnegie was an industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and is often identified as one of the richest Americans in history. But more importantly, he was a philanthropist, endowing the arts, universities, libraries, and foundations. During the last two decades of his life, he gave away $350 dollars (which translates to close to $78 billion in today's economy) -- almost 90% of his wealth. What prompted a titan of industry to become such a generous philanthropist?
"Carnegie's Maid" imagines the relationship between Carnegie and his mother's lady's maid, a fresh off the boat immigrant named Clara Kelley. It is a beautifully told story, both about Carnegie's transformation from success climbing industrialist to philanthropist, as well as Clara's own story, of newly arrived impoverished immigrant to modern American woman. It is told with tremendous heart, and the reader truly comes to care for Clara. I enjoyed reading this book, and will seek out other novels by Marie Benedict.

A fascinating tale of the early days of Carnegie as he was becoming a new tycoon in steel and iron along with bridges, railroads and so on. The story is told from the viewpoint of his mother's maid and gives us a fresh view of Carnegie's beginnings.

Why did Andrew Carnegie become benevolent in December of 1868 at the age of 33, so much so that he wrote it down in a letter to himself and carried it around with him for his entire life? What or who caused him to become this way? Historians have pondered this question for over a century. What author Marie Benedict proposes as to a person has to be a pretty close assumption – it would have to be someone who was an immigrant like himself, someone intelligent, feisty, well spoken, and someone close to him in order to convince him. Why not his Mother’s ladies maid?

This is a well-written and worth reading historical fiction on the early years of Andrew Carnegie’s life. It hit home for me for many reasons. I studied countless hours in the beautiful Carnegie Library at Syracuse University while obtaining my BSEE. I pass by and admire the Carnegie Library on Montgomery Street in Syracuse every day. I’ve been in the Carnegie Library in Solvay once, but now I will go back and look at it closer.

Although I read “Carnegie’s Maid” via Net Galley, I will be buying a hard copy for my personal library and rereading it. I sincerely encourage everyone to read this book, especially if you love and enjoy public libraries. Chances are, you have one of Carnegie’s libraries nearby.

Knowing nothing about Andrew Carnegie, and being one to enjoy a slice of historical fiction, I was quite drawn to this book. I especially liked the idea that, whilst the existence of Miss Clara Kelley is fictional, Andrew Carnegie and his philanthropic work was very real; and the author had envisaged just one potential reason behind Carnegie's motivations. I really enjoyed all of the characters and the level of their development was appropriate, with the story being told from Clara's point of view. I hadn't expected to but I felt a little emotional at the end. Definitely an enjoyable read.

Carnegie's Maid is a very creative vision of how a woman shaped the life of robber-baron Carnegie and his business.
The maid, Clara Kelly, isn't really a maid, but rather a woman who has assumed the identity of another Clara Kelly for financial reasons. Clara is flat broke with no prospects so stepping into another woman's shoes works out for her. She is quite brilliant in business but not so much as a maid. She has to learn a lot of things quickly to fit in. She does this quite successfully and eventually Carnegie grows to trust and accept her suggestions for his business.
A grand look into the world of one of the richest men with great influence on the U.S. economy and policies. Exploring the idea that a woman has such power over him is clever and, frankly, humanizes Carnegie.
Clara

I received this eBook free from NetGalley. It is due to be published by Sourcebooks Landmark on 1 January 2018.

I was interested to read this book because it features Andrew Carnegie, a man famed for his fabulous wealth, his philanthropy in funding libraries (as well as swimming baths, parks, church organs etc) for all to enjoy and make use of, but also infamous for strike-breaking and ruthless business practices. I wanted to learn more.

'Carnegie's Maid' is romantic fiction that explains the enigma of Carnegie - his ruthless ambition alongside his philanthropy - by his love for a fictional servant called Clara Kelley, who influences him to altruism.

Clara Kelley's story, of how she came to be lady's maid to Carnegie's mother, of her relationship with Andrew Carnegie, is implausible. To be honest, this is not necessarily a huge problem for me: I can suspend disbelief quite happily if for example, a story is good enough or if the characters are strong enough.

With this story, descriptions of nineteenth century, industrial Pittsburgh and New York kept me reading. There were some interesting ideas about Andrew Carnegie and I enjoyed the character of Mrs Carnegie - actually, I was more interested in Clara's relationship with her than in that between Clara and Andrew Carnegie.

I am not really a romance reader so it is not unexpected that I was not pulled headlong into this story. I can't write that I learned anything new about Andrew Carnegie. Yet I still found this novel of interest, and it was an enjoyable, easy read.

A well written, intriguing story involving a young Irish immigrant and Andrew Carnegie. The story involves Clara Kelly, a young girl sent by her family to America with the task of saving the family by making her "fortune" as they are about to lose their farm near Galway. By taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity Clara becomes the Ladies Maid to the mother of Industrialist Andrew Carnegie, and through this contact has a chance to change history.