This is a beguiling story of a young Russian countess who loses everything in her homeland but finds sanctuary in England as a house maid in an aristocratic household. The trappings of her childhood of privilege are a distant memory but then she falls in love (forbidden of course for she is a servant girl) with the young Earl of the family who is already spoken for, Anna must decide whether to risk losing everything or reveal her true identity in the hope of ensnaring the love of her life. As with all Eva's novels, the writing and characterisation is sublime.
'A fairy tale for grown-ups. It's unapologetically romantic but it's also extremely funny, wry, dry and witty - and hugely uplifting.' - Marian Keyes, Daily MailAs WWI draws to a close, a love affair that stretches across countries, families and class begins, in master storyteller Eva Ibbotson's classic historical romance The Secret Countess, with an introduction from Amanda Craig.Anna Grazinsky, a young Russian countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England. Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to help her family in any way possible, and she is soon hired as a housemaid at the Earl of Westerholme's crumbling but magnificent mansion.Then Rupert, the young Earl, returns home from the war and is fascinated by his new housemaid, and the more time they spend together the more they feel inexplicably drawn together. But they can never be together; Rupert is already engaged and Anna is only a servant . . .'I have binged on Eva Ibbotson . . . her elegantly written, witty and well-observed fables' - Nigella Lawson, The TimesRediscover Eva Ibbotson, award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, in her sweeping historical romances, including The Morning Gift, A Song For Summer and The Secret Countess, originally published as A Countess Below Stairs.
| Primary Genre | Young Adult Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
'A fairy tale for grown-ups. It's unapologetically romantic but it's also extremely funny, wry, dry and witty - and hugely uplifting.' - Marian Keyes, Daily MailAs WWI draws to a close, a love affair that stretches across countries, families and class begins, in master storyteller Eva Ibbotson's classic historical romance The Secret Countess, with an introduction from Amanda Craig.Anna Grazinsky, a young Russian countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva.
The Secret Countess features in the following genres: Young Adult Fiction, Books with reviews by our Reader Review Panel, eBooks of the Month, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Recommendations
Paperback. Not Available.
The Secret Countess was written by Eva Ibbotson and published by Macmillan an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Secret Countess has 368 pages
