Carnegie’s Maid

I had trouble putting this book down - found it to be riveting from the first few pages. The characters' stories of early immigrant sacrifices and struggles to survive, let alone succeed, are valuable for all of us to learn, appreciate and respect. Life in America was not easy for the vast majority of our ancestors. This historical fiction piece is a great story contrasting wealth and poverty, along with emotional delimmas and love. A great read.

Perhaps a very Pittsburgh book, too -- right down to foregoing love in favor of duty, and love transmuting into ideals. When I was a child in Pittsburgh, the main Carnegie Library was a temple to learning -- no expense spared in its majestic construction and every book cherished, no matter how obscure. I used to make the series of trolley journeys from my suburban home to the university district to visit it every other weekend, just because it amazed me that I was welcome in such a palatial and scholarly environment -- everyone was. It was its sheer magnificence that began my fasciation with Andrew Carnegie. I also adored Pittsburgh -- a very complex place, for those of you who don't know it. So of course I wanted to read this book, and that side of me was gratified to come away with a better understanding of the young Carnegie and Pittsburgh in the time of the Civil War -- with an intriguing description of New York in the same time period thrown in. This book is not a literary masterpiece, but it is competently written from the POV of a ladies' maid -- a narrow view of the world, but one which serves the purposes of the book very nicely. The characters took on reality for me, and the small domestic view of some of the great robber-baron moves of the day, and of the building of the country's infrastructure, was engrossing. So was the description of the living conditions of laboring-class immigrants and Irish tenant farmers during the time of the great potato famine, which came to vivid life. And the story arc was quite satisfying -- and the farthest thing imaginable from predictable. I'll be re-reading this book in future.

One of my favorite authors! She has such a way with character development. Thank you, Marie Benedict, another wonderful story.

“Carnegie's Maid: A Novel” is easily one of the best book’s I have read in a long time. Granted, I have been fascinated with Andrew Carnegie’s life story for a while, the more I was delighted with how author Marie Benedict tied together historical facts of Andrew Carnegie’s life with the story of the fictitious maid Clara Kelley who becomes his mother’s maid. Clara has been sent to the United States by her father; she is supposed to earn money and send it back to “the old home” in Ireland. In short, she is serving as a (financial) back-up helping her family to survive. Clara takes her mission very seriously. Even though she doesn’t really have any job skills that qualify her for a career in which she can make enough money, she has a major advantage – she is determined, clever, and educated. Arriving on the ocean liner “Envoy” in Philadelphia she hops on the chance to get to Pittsburgh where her distant relatives live. As luck has it, another Clara Kelley (a popular name) was also on the same liner to be hired as a maid by the Carnegie family. Realizing that the “other Clara Kelley” was probably the young woman who died on the ship, Clara takes her place, gets on the carriage, and eight days later she has the job. The bigger issue is how she is going to keep the job. Mrs. Carnegie is demanding, difficult, and in part quite insecure. Taking one wrong step could mean the end of Clara’s career. Hence, when Clara notices that Andrew Carnegie, Mrs. Carnegie’s older son and successful entrepreneur is attracted to her, she tries to avoid beginning any kind of relationship. Then again, Clara is also lonely. With the exception of Mr. Ford, the black cook, none of the other servants wants to be friends with her or even talk to her. On the other hand, Andrew Carnegie challenges her mind, teaches her business tricks, and – courts her, with passion and intellect. Author Marie Benedict creates a plausible scenario how Clara and Andrew learn from each other, stimulate each other, and bring out the best in each other. To not falsify history or lead on the reader, she starts with a prologue that makes it clear that Clara and Andrew won’t get together for good. I still rooted for them anyway. I was also impressed with the vast amount of historic details, flawlessly added to this story; the reader gets a complete picture of the era, the historic details of Pittsburg and New York at the time, and – Andrew Carnegie, which is what I was looking for. It there anything to be learned from this novel? (Mr. Ford) “... We are all pretending in this life. One way or another...” It’s upon us whether we stay “our course” and whether we allow others to help us do that. A perfect novel, 5 stars, Gisela Hausmann, author & blogger

An intriguing story, Carnegie's Maid offers a "what if" scenario regarding the real life of Andrew Carengie. A man known for being a ruthless businessman, something softened him into becomimg a great philanthropist with a focus on helping the poor and immigrants become educated in order to lift themselves out of poverty and improve their lives. While historians have never been able to unearth the reason for Carnegie's generosity, author Marie Benedict posits in her novel, Carnegie's Maid, the possibility of a love interest - the lady's maid to Andrew's mother - as being the catalyst for the outpouring of his benevolence. Benedict's descriptions of the lavish lifestyles of the Carnegies and others in their economic sphere as well as of the servant class, and working poor are so well crafted the reader gets the sense of "being there." The author obviously did her research well in order to present these worlds with a truly authentic voice. My only complaint is that, at times, conversations between some characters were unrealistic in that they seemed meant to convey information to the reader rather than things characters would actually say to each other given that both already knew the information. The conveying of information also occured in narrative in a few places in a way that felt didactic. But these are small detractions in an otherwise beautifully written, interesting, and entertaining story. Highly recommened.

I enjoyed the book at first, but about 2/3 through, I felt the writing quality slipped. More repetition, replaying covered ground, and the like. Then, it abruptly ended. I liked Clara, had no problem with her "homeschool" education, but, like others, I became very curious about Andrew and his mother. Was Mother that highly involved in his business? How did she feel about funding libraries? How did Andrew and his brother's relationship proceed? I confess that I was unaware that Clara was completely fictional, not based on any real individual or composite. To me, that makes this book fiction, based very loosely on historical figures. Disappointing.

Very well written. The story is believable and encouraging. I found myself lost in the storyline, walking through her life.

I hadn’t read any Marie Benedict novels, and knew nothing about her, before reading The Only Woman in the Room. The book was a delight to read, so I was excited to follow it up with Carnegie’s Maid. This one did not disappoint! As an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon and with a longstanding interest in the industrial history of Pittsburgh, I was drawn to the setting and era in which the story takes place. Benedict’s descriptions of the filth and poverty of the city juxtaposed against the wealth are written in such masterful detail. The story’s topics of wealth inequality and immigration challenges remain relevant even today. Clara, the protagonist, is strong, likeable, intelligent and relatable, much like Hedy in The Only Woman in the Room. I loved Benedict’s diplomatic rendering of Andrew Carnegie, whose reputation as an ambitious, somewhat greedy “robber baron” has, in my opinion, always been too one-sided. She paints a more nuanced and complex picture of Carnegie as a young man, with redeeming and attractive traits; the playful dialogue between Carnegie and Clara make him more human and fallible as well. Can’t wait to read another Marie Benedict novel!

This is another classic tale of a poor servant girl catching the eye of her rich master. However although our heroine, Clara, the ladies maid is fictional, her rich employer is not. He is Andrew Carnegie. So the author is constrained by history and one knows right from the start that the romance, such as it is, will never go anywhere and that is one of the novels flaws. Although the book is very well written and researched, the plot lacks drama. The romance is very chaste and is not imbued with much emotion and the premise that this woman might have influenced Carnegie’s business and philanthropic causes, really seems a bit far fetched. I also would have liked a more imaginative ending. As it is the book ends on a rather flat note. However Andrew Carnegie certainly was a vary interesting person and so I found this book most informative.

Loved this book. The disparity in the lives of an Irish maid and her employer is dealt with superbly. The quality of the writing brings the story to life. Highly recommend this book.

Excellent read. I was drawn in immediately to this very interesting story. I love the historical content. Everyone should read this book.

Although the character is purely fictional, the author's mastery of the period lends credence to something that one would hope would happen in real life at the time.

Really enjoyed this book! Very lifelike and believable. I was sorry to come to the end of it.