Clara Kelley travels in steerage from Ireland to America. When she finally arrives, she is surprised to hear a man calling her name. No one could be expecting her. The well-dressed man must be looking for another Clara Kelly; after all, the name is not uncommon. The quick-witted Clara realizes that here is an opportunity and she steps into a life she could never have imagined, in service to the mother of the world’s richest man, Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie’s Maid, by Marie Benedict, offers a little local history, a little library love, a little clean romance, and a little Upstairs Downstairs. What’s not to love? I particularly recommend the audio book, narrated by Alana Kerr, who masterfully reads in Irish, Scottish, English and American accents.
Clara Kelley is not the experienced Irish maid hired to work in one of Pittsburgh’s grandest households. She’s a poor farmer’s daughter with nothing in her pockets. But the other woman with the same name has vanished, so Clara is pretending to be her — if she can keep up the ruse. Carnegie’s Maid tells the story of a brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie toward philanthropy.