aliciac66 's review for:

Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict

5.0

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Loved this book! The descriptive narrative about life during the 1800's in Pittsburgh for both the hard working factory families and the wealthier class (The Carnegie Family specifically) was vivid. The author provided great detail about the Carnegie's rise in society and wealth from their immigrant status from Scotland. She spun a story about why Andrew Carnegie (cutthroat and ingenious businessman) would also be so vested in philanthropic ventures. Some of them were building colleges and another was providing free libraries for all people especially hoping the immigrant societies would benefit. Clara, (the maid to Mrs. Carnegie) was educated as much as a woman could be in that time, often reminded Andrew how he used personal libraries to improve his education which then helped him to elevate his family's earnings thus improving their status in society. The author took little liberties with the storyline that could cause the reader to scratch their heads - for example, it took months for a letter to arrive from Ireland for Clara yet, the Carnegie family could track down information from Europe in just days.

I listened to this as an audiobook - the Irish accent of the narrator added to my enjoyment. Highly recommend it!