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Carnegie's Maid

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I found this story very compelling. Andrew Carnegie was a ruthless industrialist turned philanthropist, giving away his fortune, promoting self-education by building libraries. Yet no one knows what caused the change in him. The author took from her own immigrant ancestors and added Clara Kelley to the story, an immigrant with a story of her own. She became Mrs. Carnegie‘s lady‘s maid, but did she also bring about this change to Andrew?

The Wild Wood bookstore opened today. I was excited to meet the owners and support their new adventure.

Why would Andrew Carnegie, the ruthless industrialist, use the bulk of his huge fortune to improve educational opportunities for poor immigrants? This speculative historical fiction novel provides one possible reason, immersing the reader in an engaging upstairs/downstairs type tale. The details of Andrew Carnegie‘s life, and also those of his Irish immigrant maid, Clara, are fascinating and feel well-researched. ⬇️

Thanks to these Litsy folks for today‘s prompt:

#INQUOTES
@Eggs
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks
@LitsyEvents
#LitsyEvents

Today‘s Prompt: TAPESTRY

Love her books - this was a favorite.

https://tinyurl.com/5xd2t2fn

Thanks to these Litsy folks for today‘s prompt:

#INQUOTES
@Eggs
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks
@LitsyEvents
#LitsyEvents

Today‘s Prompt: TAPESTRY

📖 12-19-22 || This is a soft pick because though I enjoy Benedict‘s writing this one dragged a little. I was disappointed to realize that the MC is completely fictional. It‘s apparent that Benedict did thoroughly research Carnegie and his transition from industrialist to philanthropist, as well as the immigrant experience of the Irish in the later 1800s. I enjoyed The Personal Librarian and still plan to read other books by Benedict.

Book 86

Clara, immigrated to the US from Ireland in the 1860s, obtains a job as a lady's maid to Mrs. Carnegie, mother of the railroad tycoon. From the house library and Andrew

Carnegie himself, Clara learns business and becomes a confidant and adviser to Andrew. Though the novel is somewhat historically accurate, Clara is a fictional character. Of course, a self-made businessman would never seek counsel from a woman.

I enjoyed this book but have enjoyed some of Marie Benedict‘s more. I‘m not upset having read it, it was entertaining. What I disliked most was that it seems more fictional than the rest of her work. While, pretty much all are historical fiction, there had been more to support the direction she took in her other stories. This one seemed almost completely fictional, and again while enjoyable, less interesting as a result.

I really enjoyed this one! Of course the account is fictionalized so the ending leaves us wanting a bit more, but overall it was a satisfactory ending and really enjoyable. I will be reading more from this author for sure.
Audiobook was decent.

This book was beyond fascinating!! I resisted the urge of researching along the way and I‘m so glad I resisted, it would‘ve spoiled everything 😱 A five star historical fiction read, no question ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#covid audio meh.

"From this experience, I learned that when you‘ve gone astray, a helping hand will always emerge from the darkness."

3.5. I really enjoyed this book! I loved the writing style and the narrator was fantastic. My only real complaint is that it felt unfinished. Almost as if she reached a certain page count and decided that was long enough. It was really interesting to learn a little more about the Carnegies. I frequent their libraries and have lived near CMU for a lot of my life, but I didn‘t know how much he did for Pittsburgh! 🌉

Just as I was driving over the Fort Pitt bridge, Clara started talking about getting off the street car at Grant Street... my exit for work. 🥰 I‘m really enjoying all these Burgh references and getting a feel for the city during the Industrial Age.

Interesting-entertaining

A young Irish immigrant becomes the lady‘s maid for Andrew Carnegie‘s mother in this imagined novel about where Carnegie might have gotten inspiration to donate so much of his fortune. This required a pretty big suspension of disbelief but it was a quick and interesting take nevertheless. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2020/01/review-carnegies-maid-by-marie-benedict...

#newyearwhodis @Laughterhp @monalyisha

Diving into my first #newyearwhodis book from @Laughterhp ‘s list.

@monalyisha

Finally getting around to this!!

Finished my pick for #LMPBC Round 7! This book was really good. I enjoyed the story and got sucked into the book. Clara‘s situation was extremely frustrating. I don‘t want to say too much since the rest of the group needs to read the book!

I will say Marie Benedict has become an auto read author. I‘ve read 2 of her books and loved them!

I will probably send this out to you after the holiday Chrissy!

#7Days7covers #covercrush

DAY 2 - COVER CHALLENGE

GORGEOUS cover and a great read.

Thanks for the tag, @sudi

Interesting historical fiction. I liked the main character a lot and was into her story.

Cute, light hearted, and well-researched. I live in Pittsburgh, so this book got me interested in the local history and Andrew Carnegie. Read more: https://pickingbooks.com/blog/carnegiesmaid

The added fictional character highlights rather than detracts from the book's historical accuracy, and this earnest work of historical romance benefits greatly from its lack of romance.

I'm out... the author is repetitive to the point that I feel she just thinks I'm either stupid or have short term memory loss. The same facts are repeated every 10 minutes, so much so that I don't feel like the story has progressed in the last 3 hours at all. NEXT!!!
@Tamra, you were right... BORING!!!!

I'm not thrilled by the repetitive style of this story. About 2 hours in and I'm kind of put off but I'll stick it out for a bit. I need to keep reminding myself of the time period, too! The name Carnegie makes me think of the late 1800s, not the Civil War!

#Onward to the next journey. This seems a bit out of my wheelhouse but it may be a #blameitonLitsy. I'm not sure why I tagged it on #Libby, but it may have something to do with The Dollhouse.

I always have an audiobook in the car for unexpected traffic jams. Like today, where the wait time is 40+ minutes just to drop off donations for the semi-annual rummage sale. On the plus side, their book tent is set up like a store, complete with wood shelves and everything sorted by genre and author. I'll be back on sale day!

Really enjoyed this one, especially the audible version.

I enjoyed learning about the plight of Irish immigrants to America in the late 1800s. And the duties of a lady‘s maid.

Interesting fictional take on the history of Andrew Carnegie‘s philanthropy. Good story of wealth, class, and early industrialization.

Here is my #februarytbr. I want to stick to these books so that I get more of my own books read. The Life of Pi is for book club and when I saw Something in the Water at the library, I thought I'd give it a listen.

#literarylove
@vkois88 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Today would be a good day to stay in and read, since the temperature right now is -24°, but the library is open so I have to go to work.

Starting this one- it‘s been on my list for a while, but I‘ve been putting it off since I hated The Other Einstein. Here‘s hoping I enjoy this one! #libby #currentread

Historical fiction which gave me a bit of insight into Carnegie‘s life, which I knew nothing about. I feel it was quite clever of the author to make up a fictional character, his maid, as the explanation for his philanthropy. Well written, entertaining and informative. 👍

In this stack are the books I'm thinking about reading in February. If I don't read them then, I plan on reading them sometime this year.

Here are the top circulating fiction books from my library ❤️! I‘ve read some.. have you?!

I wish this book were true! However, it was a great read and loved the audiobook voice.
Benedict did a good job of researching and showing issues Irish immigrants faced. Great comparisons of immigrant experiences plus I learned more about Carnegie.

Historical fiction is one if my top genre picks, so I enjoyed this book. I like how it tied fictional components with real historical figures. The author clearly researched well for the story. I loved it!

I tried this audio and bailing at 43%. The repetition of the MC‘s quandary is annoying, plus business and flirting romance generally doesn‘t interest me so.........

This is historical fiction, told from the vantage of an Irish immigrant who serves as a lady‘s maid for Andrew Carnegie‘s mother. The juxtaposition of the struggling immigrant experience with that of the lavish lifestyle of the Carnegies was dramatic. Carnegie was an immigrant himself who built a great empire and ultimately contributed back to society with the foundation of libraries and other charitable foundations. I really enjoyed this read.

While this book may not be historically accurate, it presented an intriguing idea about how Andrew Carnegie may have come to be the philanthropist most people know him as.

Many have thought a personal relationship is what changed his heart and triggered his life of philanthropy. This historical fiction account is believable. I recommend the #audiobook to get the full effect of the Irish protagonist.
"#AndrewCarnegie, who is the man who built this free #library and thousands more libraries with his own money. A man who gave the gift of books and education to every person, regardless of how much money they had."

I had to get up to answer the door. Now I'll have to find a book. 😜

Meanwhile I can show off the scarf. I still need to trim the tassels, weave in the ends but I'm quite happy with the outcome.

#KAT #catsoflitsy #FibreFansOfLitsy

Reading outside. I guess Ghost thought my legs were cool enough to sleep on.

Nearly finished with the tagged book. Another ancient #NetGalley #ARC from #MountTBR.

My #24B4Monday stats. @TheReadingMermaid

Managed 16 hours, 3 books finished and started the tagged book.