My Review of Maid of Fairbourne Hall, by Julie Klassen

OK, so that lasted all of 20 days...the retiring of my book blog!

Turns out, this really does seem like the best place to put my book reviews.  So I'm back.  And you know what they say about a woman's perogative, and all that! :)

Anyway, on to my review....

After reading all of Julie Klassen's previous books, my interest is always piqued when I hear she has another out.

And reading The Maid of Fairbourne Hall was the perfect antidote to the intensity of The Hunger Games and a string of P.D. James mysteries.

Julie Klassen's books may contain some danger and intrigue--they're not all fluff and frivolity--but they are books that you can just sit back and enjoy, for the sheer pleasure and fun of a good story.

Margaret Macy is a typical young lady of the Regency era--rich, beautiful and spoiled.  But she's not without decorum, and when her stepfather tries to force his boorish nephew on her in marriage--even to the point of suggesting the nephew compromise Margaret in order to insure the marriage--Margaret decides to make like Joseph fleeing Potiphar's wife.

And of course, the stepfather is only after the fortune she'll inherit when she turns 25 in just a few months.

She has no one to turn to and only a few coins to her name.  So what does she do?  She joins her own maid in leaving London and seeking a position elsewhere.

As a housemaid.

A good deal of enjoyment of this book is watching the tables turn on this pampered girl.  Disguised with a wig and spectacles, Margaret--now "Nora"--now literally finds out how the other half lives.  And that includes scrubbing floors and emptying chamber pots.

But Margaret is always likable, and we grow to respect her for adapting to her new lifestyle and gaining respect for the kind of people who have served her all her life.

And of course, there's a complication or two when Margaret finds out just whose house it is that she's working in.

Julie Klassen has obviously done her research when it comes to the part that servants played in that era--basically, that a wealthy home couldn't exist without them.  They often lived under severe rules and regimens, rarely getting any time off and working for very little pay.

I enjoyed the story's romance, and appreciated the element of faith that is an undercurrent of the main character's lives.

If you need an escape from the winter doldrums, you can probably find it in this light but refreshing historical romance.

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