Carnegie's Maid

By: Marie Benedict

Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

From the author of The Other Einstein, the mesmerizing tale of what kind of woman could have inspired an American dynasty. 

Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the other woman with the same name has vanished, and pretending to be her just might get Clara some money to send back home. 

If she can keep up the ruse, that is. Serving as a lady's maid in the household of Andrew Carnegie requires skills she doesn't have, answering to an icy mistress who rules her sons and her domain with an iron fist. What Clara does have is a resolve as strong as the steel Pittsburgh is becoming famous for, coupled with an uncanny understanding of business, and Andrew begins to rely on her. But Clara can't let her guard down, not even when Andrew becomes something more than an employer. Revealing her past might ruin her future - and her family's. 

With captivating insight and heart, Carnegie's Maid tells the story of one brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world's first true philanthropist. 

©2018 Marie Benedict (P)2018 Random House Audio

Engaging story

I enjoyed this story very much. The characters were believable and the epilogue answered myself question about where the inspiration was born.
I cannot say I didn’t like the narrator. She gave each person a very good voice. But something in her speech pattern, or high notes, bothered me. I was not able to listen in one start but that is not so bad.

19 people found this helpful

Entertaining and educational

Listening to the audio version was like being in a classroom. The novel seemed to be written as textbook material about Andrew Carnegie’s early life and acquisition of wealth through the iron and steel industries. To make it more entertaining, the author interwove a love story that involves a simple Irish immigrant girl whose peasant lifestyle and values get put to the test when she takes on the role of lady’s maid to Andrew’s cunning and socially ambitious mother.

8 people found this helpful

melodramatic.

fun but sentimental, kind of soppy. but informative about the era., class distinctions, immigrants' plight. very well performed.

8 people found this helpful

Loved every second

I love the story, the characters, the deep meaning behind the plot. I listened to it all day and finished it tonight, it was just too good to turn off. It sure made my 20 loads of laundry fly by lol

6 people found this helpful

Well written

If you like historical novels this is easily followed, attention keeping. Irish immigration and the American industrial revolution.

5 people found this helpful

Silly Speculation

Writing speculative history can be interesting if remotely based on the possible or probable. This story was far from that mark. The characters were uninteresting without carefully crafted motivation and the historical context was overly simplified. The narrator tended to slightly screechy and mispronounced a number of words. Not worth the time and effort...

9 people found this helpful

Shallow

Carnegie’s Maid could have been an exciting tale of one of America’s most interesting and wealthy families. It could have presented the historical relevance of an penniless, immigrant family coming to America, and the contributions they made to our country through hard work and determination. It could have been a story of inspiration, and the importance of equality in this country at a time in which it is so desperately needed.
However, this was a terribly written and horribly narrated soap opera version of a book in much need of a good editor and a complete redo. The story began on a weak premise, and only got weaker. My greatest irritation, second only to the unforgivable narration, was the incredibly sophisticated language used by the main character. An Irish country girl, educated as she may have been, would never have been capable of the dialogue used throughout her every interaction. It was not plausible!
Alana Kerr Collins, however, was the worst possible choice as narrator for this story. Her sing-song voice never varied. When speaking the men’s parts, her voice never changed or varied in any way. Every character sounded exactly like the same. I have never understood why a narrator attempts dialects that are far beyond their ability. The Scottish and Irish pronunciation of even the most simple words and phrases were strained and forced. This became so annoying and distracting, I almost gave up early on. I had the hope that the historical aspect of the book would somehow compensate for all this. It did not!
I do not recommend this book to anyone, much less to anyone interested in historical fiction! This was pure melodrama.

8 people found this helpful

Very entertaining

Although, predictable at times, I found the book very entertaining and easy to listen to.

8 people found this helpful

Flat

I feel like the book never really settled in on what it was supposed to be.

The woes of the poor? Life in service? A love story? It was a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing. The slice of life in the 1860s was interesting, and the tragic nature of a forbidden love could have been a compelling storyline, but I didn’t buy into Andrew’s motivations for a minute.

Overall, it was too flat. Not enough drama, emotion, suspense, tragedy, whatever to keep me hooked.

3 people found this helpful

Insight to Billionaire Immigrant's Rise

interesting way to we've a story with historical fact. Good narration and a compelling story

3 people found this helpful