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Liza
The year is 1907.
After being unjustly sacked as a lady’s maid to an English family in Germany, Liza returns to Britain penniless, without a job or any hope of a reference.
Aboard the SS Florence Grey she meets spoilt, rich Cecily Spencer who, keen to seek adventure in London, persuades Liza to switch identities for a month.
In order to support her family, Liza agrees. And, trading her rags for riches, she moves in with Cecily’s guardian William and encounters life in the mansion from the other side of the servant’s quarters.
As a member of the Spencer family, Liza is exposed to old rivalries and feuds which go back for generations.
She has to learn how to live above stairs, whilst unknowingly falling in love, and quickly she is torn apart by conflicting loyalties.
Can she make it through unscathed or without being unmasked?
Or will she lose everything she has dreamed of if the man she loves finds out who she really is?
After being unjustly sacked as a lady’s maid to an English family in Germany, Liza returns to Britain penniless, without a job or any hope of a reference.
Aboard the SS Florence Grey she meets spoilt, rich Cecily Spencer who, keen to seek adventure in London, persuades Liza to switch identities for a month.
In order to support her family, Liza agrees. And, trading her rags for riches, she moves in with Cecily’s guardian William and encounters life in the mansion from the other side of the servant’s quarters.
As a member of the Spencer family, Liza is exposed to old rivalries and feuds which go back for generations.
She has to learn how to live above stairs, whilst unknowingly falling in love, and quickly she is torn apart by conflicting loyalties.
Can she make it through unscathed or without being unmasked?
Or will she lose everything she has dreamed of if the man she loves finds out who she really is?
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2003
5 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 15, 2017
Irene Carr impresses me as a writer. I had just finished reading my first book by Carr - Katie's Men - and I followed it immediately with this one. A bit disappointing as it was such a similar plot. (
February 12, 2017
This book starts with Liza, an unemployed maid, meeting Cecily, a spoiled rich girl. Cecily wants Liza to take her place for a month. Liza is not too keen but circumstances make it a hard offer to refuse. Then the book goes back 21 years and starts with the birth of each girl. nearly 40% of the book is spent on the back story of each girl and many other characters. Some of it is interesting but it seems like overkill.
The writing is in the omniscient voice and very expository. So much so that sometimes it felt more like a lesson. We learn a lot about the duties of household servants. There are more words spent on explaining how coal is loaded on a ship than on Liza's explanation to her love interest. I did not need to count words on this because this all important final love scene is simply not described. No words of love between them are ever written. And this causes the end result to be unfulfilling.
The writing is in the omniscient voice and very expository. So much so that sometimes it felt more like a lesson. We learn a lot about the duties of household servants. There are more words spent on explaining how coal is loaded on a ship than on Liza's explanation to her love interest. I did not need to count words on this because this all important final love scene is simply not described. No words of love between them are ever written. And this causes the end result to be unfulfilling.
February 8, 2017
Enjoyed it. Working class woman impersonates a heiress and falls in love with the heiress' guardian.
July 2, 2022
Really good read
September 23, 2010
A good old fashioned love story!
January 18, 2017
A great read
This is a very enjoyable book. The author was able to seamlessly the different characters and their stories into a a very good tale. I highly recommend it.
This is a very enjoyable book. The author was able to seamlessly the different characters and their stories into a a very good tale. I highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews