Welcome to Litsy!

It's 1905. A rich household in London. Mrs King grew up among the grifters and thieves of London, but has, until recently, lead a respectable life as the housekeeper of a manor in Park Lane, Mayfair. Now she's out for revenge with a plan to rob the carpets from under her former employers' feet.

Liked the women and their stories and reasons for their actions. It was interesting to the very end.

Kat Holloway,cook extraordinaire,works for an upper echelon family in 1881 London.The eccentric daughter, who loves the freedom that dressing as a man in the night affords her, asks Kat to help her investigate when art & antiquities are stolen from upper class home & her friend is a suspect.Kat‘s possible love interest,Daniel,
an expert in disguise,is also investigating these thefts.What begins as a case of thievery becomes a case of murder.

A gift and not a book I would usually read. I enjoyed it but found the end a bit drawn out. A heist story with a difference. Downstairs against upstairs. Not what you would think.

The sense of foreboding in the slim book was so well done! I worried at every turn of the page. Mary is sent off by her father to work for the Vicar and help take care of his ailing wife. Although the home she left was harsh and full of backbreaking labor she laments the lack of choice she is given. I won‘t lie, this book was bleak but I thought it was really effective. #24in2024

Low end of the pick scale. The stories from White House residence staff were interesting, but Brower was all over the place. My two favorite sections had themes — children in the WH and how residence staff dealt with traumatic events like 9/11 and Kennedy‘s assassination. In many ways, Brower turns the staff members into saints. No staff member ever talks out of turn. All staff members respect and care for the families they serve. Really?

This was so interesting! Full of sweet stories and surprising revelations from the White House resident staff. Covering multiple decades and presidents, I especially loved hearing about the caring relationships between the first families and staff. The author also explored the history of how the house staff system came about, race, and respect. One juicy stories too. Really fascinating, great on #audio Highly recommend!

A low pick for me. The story about a well-to-do family in WWI England is told from the POV of Grace, one of the Hartford family's servants, who lives vicariously through the two Hartford sisters, Hannah and Emmeline. The plot moved slowly for 3/4 of the book then rushed to its cataclysmic conclusion. I also found myself wanting to know more about Grace's transformation from a maid to an archeologist than just a quick few sentences at the end. ⬇️

I finished these two in December for #AuthorAMonth. I have two others that I own and plan to read early this year.

“I have nothing but a cat which I bought for a penny some time since from a little girl“

This story teaches the lesson that hard work pays off, with determination and perseverance, I would use this book as a fun way to motivate students to work hard