• Rose

  • My Life in Service to Lady Astor
  • By: Rosina Harrison
  • Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
  • Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (322 ratings)

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Rose  By  cover art

Rose

By: Rosina Harrison
Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
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Publisher's summary

In 1928, Rosina Harrison arrived at the illustrious household of the Astor family to take up her new position as personal maid to the infamously temperamental Lady Nancy Astor, who sat in Parliament, entertained royalty, and traveled the world. "She's not a lady as you would understand a lady" was the butler's ominous warning. But what no one expected was that the iron-willed Lady Astor was about to meet her match in the no-nonsense, whip-smart girl from the country.

For 35 years, from the parties thrown for royalty and trips across the globe, to the air raids during World War II, Rose was by Lady Astor's side and behind the scenes, keeping everything running smoothly. In charge of everything from the clothes and furs to the baggage to the priceless diamond "sparklers", Rose was closer to Lady Astor than anyone else. In her decades of service she received one 5-pound raise, but she traveled the world in style and retired with a lifetime's worth of stories. Like Gosford Park and Downton Abbey, Rose is not only a captivating insight into the great wealth "upstairs" and the endless work "downstairs"; it is also the story of an unlikely decades-long friendship that grew between Her Ladyship and her spirited Yorkshire maid.

©2011 Rosina Harrison (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Lady Astor's personal maid reveals her 'upstairs, downstairs' relationships with England's grandest family.... Fascinating and deliciously readable!" ( The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Rose

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

AWFUL!! I was very disappointed.

I've been an avowed Anglophile all of my life, so I thought this would be right up my alley. Almost immediately, I remembered something I'd heard as a child as told by one of my father's great aunts. I always thought she was crazy when she referred to Lady Nancy Astor as "a classless, poor white trash racist". Clutching my imaginary pearls, I was shocked and appalled. And remained "verklempt" for many decades, only to discover that there was a lot of truth in my own family lore about Nancy Astor.

Author and Astor maid Rosina "Rose" Harrison doesn't reveal where "the bodies are buried" in this ponderous tome. In fact, her "brown-nosing" of her "betters" is a bit over the top. While I can forgive her for not throwing Nancy under the bus for the most part, Rose seems to be clueless as she co-signs on her employer's inappropriate behaviors and language. I understand that this all took place during a much less politically correct time, but Nancy (I refuse to call her "Lady" any more) thought it was cute to make overt fun of her friends, family, the disabled, and other races and cultures. A bit a side research informed me that Nancy was actually the daughter of Virginia slave owners who lost their fortune after the Civil War. My father's ancestors were Virginia slaves and later domestics in wealthy Washington DC and New York City homes - being the requisite preferred "high yella" complexion to work in the best circles. My father's "Aint" Bessie likely got her insider info from working in homes where the Astors frequented. I would have thought Nancy would have learned some common "home training" after marrying a British lord and herself becoming a member of Parliament. However her undercover manners belied the alleged philanthropic contributions she is known for. And her maid Rose was as crass and insensitive as her mistress. I usually don't get upset by the use of the word "nigger" in books where the literary value outweighs the racial epitaphs. But Nancy (and Rose as a compliant supporter) was just nasty and hateful. No amount of British veneer could mask her "Papa Whiskey Tango" racism and meanness towards those less fortunate, no matter their race or ethnic origin. It was obvious that she had never bothered to interact with an African American person her life, instead preferring to call them "nigger" every chance she got. Nancy was nothing more than a bog Irish golddigger.

Author Rose Harrison showed me that there is a big difference between a "slave" and a "servant". The former is a state of being while latter is a state of mind. If she could have pulled her head out of her mistress' rear long enough to learn more of the world around her, this could have been a good book. As it is, it's merely a waste of money. Not so much time because I could only stomach about 1/3 of the thing before I had to put it down. This is not "Downton Abbey" or "Upstairs Downstairs". It's more like a very bad "Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte" with 2 scary old white women trying to one-up each other in their own insular world. Nancy Astor comes off as unstable, like a person with a lesion on her frontal lobe. As "Aint" Bessie said "That cow didn't have the sense that God gave a chicken!". That's a lot of farm animals when describing a "Lady". Sad.........

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46 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Winston Churchill was right about the poison...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Only Rosina's employer. I was very excited to give this a listen, despite what I've always heard about Lady Astor, and I was not disappointed by the narrative at all. Rosina is an honest, salt-of-the-Earth voice, and I found her charming throughout.

What was most disappointing about Rosina Harrison’s story?

Even after all I'd heard, I was fully prepared to give Lady Astor the benefit of the doubt, no one could really be so bad. Wrong, she was worse. Between the chilly treatment of her children, the cat shooting, and the unending stream of verbal abuse, "I want to break your spirit, Rose," I have seldom heard of anyone more spiteful, petty, and mean spirited in my life. I think Rose, or any of the staff mentioned throughout, must have been the soul of patience to have dealt with the ill tempered witch for so long.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably when Lady Astor tried to kick Rose (no joke) and Rose made a grab for her ankle to tip her over. I thought it was an incredible pity that Rose missed, the image of Nancy Astor @$$ over teakettle in the floor would have been one to cherish.

Any additional comments?

If you can get past sweet Rose's sour-puss employer, the story as a whole, and the behind the scenes peeks at the life of a Lady's Maid in this era, are really fascinating.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Time Travel

This is a fun book for people who like to time-travel into the past, and into other kinds of lives. It's really a vacation and a wonderful escape. Heartily recommended for those with curiosity.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Couldn't Do It

Would you try another book from Rosina Harrison and/or Wanda McCaddon?

Yes

Would you ever listen to anything by Rosina Harrison again?

Yes

What about Wanda McCaddon’s performance did you like?

Yes

Do you think Rose needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No because there was not enough content for this one.

Any additional comments?

The first third was good, the second third was OK and the last third I cannot comment on because I could just not get through this book.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

I wanted to be facinated...

Any additional comments?

... I'm not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it. The book just missed the mark.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely and Poignant

After watching a marathon session of Dowton Abbey I needed to fill my 'fix' of Upstairs/Downstairs relationships. This book truly hit the mark! I had heard some stories about Nancy Astor in the past and this book truly does a superb job of illuminating her larger than life character while modestly describing resiliant and endearing Rose, Nancy's Lady's Maid. This book also examines their 30+year relationship in an intriguing and beautiful way.
i loved this book and I'm off to read it again! I'm also looking for more stories that illustrate how people lived in the Aristocracy with their maids and butlers, especially where there is a true respect and personal relationships have formed.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting Memoir

This should be a go-to if you are ever curious about the attitudes of British servants in the palmy days of the great Empire. It has plenty of detail about the activities in great houses as well and probably was a reference for Downton Abbey. There are also hair raising descriptions of the WW II blitz bombings. If you’re looking for dirt on Lady Astor you won’t get much of it here, though the character analysis is fairly frank.

The narration is impeccable.

By the way, I’m pretty sure I listened to the whole book and I never heard the “n” word. Not once.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Really good

I really liked this one and hated for it to end, in fact I may listen to it again. The reader was really good and is from the UK, so she sounds right for the part and I found myself forgetting that she wasn’t the actual person who the book is about.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Little Too Rushed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, it had a very interesting point of view at a particular time in history.

What did you like best about this story?

Both of the ladies personalities.

What three words best describe Wanda McCaddon’s voice?

Rich, interesting, rushed...

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes, if sets were well done.

Any additional comments?

Loved the reader's voice, but hated the editing of it. It was a quicker pace, but sometimes had nice pauses in between paragraphs. Other times it was one long rush of words after another. Quite exhausting, really. Her intonations and voices were excellent and I would like to try her again under another editor/director.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What a beautiful story

You couldn’t help but fall in love with Rose.
I admired her loyalty to herself and the Aster family. Her character was impeccable. I think that is why her and Lady Aster became so close. Just a great story.

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1 person found this helpful