What do you think?
Rate this book
Amy: The Story Of A Coram Foundling
THE DECADENT REGENCY, AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF A SERVANT
Amy is given as a baby of three weeks-old, to Coram's Foundling Hospital in Bloomsbury, London in 1784. She is raised in the Hospital with its harsh regime and strict rules, until she is sent at aged 14 to work for the aristocratic Lady Bessborough.
She becomes the maid of Lady Bessborough's daughter -the mentally unstable Lady Caroline Lamb, and witnesses first-hand the opulent and decadent Regency 'haute ton'. Their extra-marital affairs, secret pregnancies and vices laid bare.
Amy's journey takes her on many adventures, as she works in different households and embarks on numerous love affairs, including as working as Lord Byron's housekeeper, where she witnesses the breakdown of Byron's marriage.
After many years of service to others, Amy eventually finds the courage to defy convention and find happiness and love.
Amy is given as a baby of three weeks-old, to Coram's Foundling Hospital in Bloomsbury, London in 1784. She is raised in the Hospital with its harsh regime and strict rules, until she is sent at aged 14 to work for the aristocratic Lady Bessborough.
She becomes the maid of Lady Bessborough's daughter -the mentally unstable Lady Caroline Lamb, and witnesses first-hand the opulent and decadent Regency 'haute ton'. Their extra-marital affairs, secret pregnancies and vices laid bare.
Amy's journey takes her on many adventures, as she works in different households and embarks on numerous love affairs, including as working as Lord Byron's housekeeper, where she witnesses the breakdown of Byron's marriage.
After many years of service to others, Amy eventually finds the courage to defy convention and find happiness and love.
737 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 5, 2017
6 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 15, 2018
Regency romance with an Upstairs, Downstairs feel.
Amy is given to the Coram Foundling Home as a baby, where she grows up under a strict regime and no love or tenderness. At fourteen she is sent to work for Lady Bessborough’s daughter, who would later become the infamous mistress of Lord Byron.
She witnesses the opulence and scandal of the ‘Ton’. As she grows up she becomes a loyal servant and friend as well as lover to the Bessborough family, but she is always reminded that she can never be one of them as an equal, or can she?
Although this book is a very long 700 odd pages and has its flaws, I really, really liked it! I haven’t read a ‘Georgette Heyer’ style book in years and this was a real treat. The author has obviously done her research as I checked several facts and she was spot on. A lot of characters were real people and well documented if a little obscure. Amy is a lovely character; not sickly sweet and cute but strong and likeable.
The only flaw in this book is the editing. There was a mistake, spelling/wrong word on every page but this didn’t detract from the story once you got into it. I e-mailed the author about the editing as it is a shame her debut book should be marred but such a silly thing. I read this book on my Kindle which apparently can have spelling problems, but the author is going to re-edit it and make this book a tour de force in the Regency Romance genre.
Shesat
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
Amy is given to the Coram Foundling Home as a baby, where she grows up under a strict regime and no love or tenderness. At fourteen she is sent to work for Lady Bessborough’s daughter, who would later become the infamous mistress of Lord Byron.
She witnesses the opulence and scandal of the ‘Ton’. As she grows up she becomes a loyal servant and friend as well as lover to the Bessborough family, but she is always reminded that she can never be one of them as an equal, or can she?
Although this book is a very long 700 odd pages and has its flaws, I really, really liked it! I haven’t read a ‘Georgette Heyer’ style book in years and this was a real treat. The author has obviously done her research as I checked several facts and she was spot on. A lot of characters were real people and well documented if a little obscure. Amy is a lovely character; not sickly sweet and cute but strong and likeable.
The only flaw in this book is the editing. There was a mistake, spelling/wrong word on every page but this didn’t detract from the story once you got into it. I e-mailed the author about the editing as it is a shame her debut book should be marred but such a silly thing. I read this book on my Kindle which apparently can have spelling problems, but the author is going to re-edit it and make this book a tour de force in the Regency Romance genre.
Shesat
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
March 31, 2018
In 1784, Amy was given away as an infant and raised by the extremely conservative Foundling Hospital. She spends her childhood learning to read and write, look after other children, do chores, and learn The Bible. An example to many of the girls in the hospital, Amy becomes the choice candidate to travel to Cavendish Square to work for the aristocratic Bessborough family.
Upon arrival, Amy is assigned to care for Lady Bessborough's daughter, Lady Caroline. Prone to tantrums and moments of hyper activity or self-absorbed ramblings, Caro is a handful of a girl. She also adores having Amy around and can't bear to be apart from her. Amy may be a servant, but she finds herself in the company of the family more than those in her own class in the lower levels of the house.
Being amongst the family also means that Amy has captured the attention of both of Lady Caroline's brothers, John and Freddy. With little concern for status or the scandals that would occur, the young men do what they can to seduce the young lady's maid. Amy's heart is torn between the two, while she battles with her head and the knowledge that nothing could ever come from their affairs due to their class separations.
Needless to say, there is a lot of drama sprinkled throughout this story. There's never a dull moment with Amy in the Bessborough house. As a fan of stories like Victoria or Downton Abbey (both on PBS), and reading books like Below Stairs, I was immersed in the quiet insanity that unfolded in Amy's adventures.
This story, however, didn't come without it's errors. While it is a lengthy read at 735 pages, it does jump around from time-to-time and has a fair share of spelling and grammatical errors. While this was all noticeable, there was still so much going on as far as content that I felt it was more important to find out what would happen next rather than focus on the few faults in the pages and dwell on if it would detract from the overall story.
Thankfully, there are two more books in this series, so there's even more to discover in Amy's life as a servant in London. Personally, I'm hooked and can't wait to find out what's next!
Upon arrival, Amy is assigned to care for Lady Bessborough's daughter, Lady Caroline. Prone to tantrums and moments of hyper activity or self-absorbed ramblings, Caro is a handful of a girl. She also adores having Amy around and can't bear to be apart from her. Amy may be a servant, but she finds herself in the company of the family more than those in her own class in the lower levels of the house.
Being amongst the family also means that Amy has captured the attention of both of Lady Caroline's brothers, John and Freddy. With little concern for status or the scandals that would occur, the young men do what they can to seduce the young lady's maid. Amy's heart is torn between the two, while she battles with her head and the knowledge that nothing could ever come from their affairs due to their class separations.
Needless to say, there is a lot of drama sprinkled throughout this story. There's never a dull moment with Amy in the Bessborough house. As a fan of stories like Victoria or Downton Abbey (both on PBS), and reading books like Below Stairs, I was immersed in the quiet insanity that unfolded in Amy's adventures.
This story, however, didn't come without it's errors. While it is a lengthy read at 735 pages, it does jump around from time-to-time and has a fair share of spelling and grammatical errors. While this was all noticeable, there was still so much going on as far as content that I felt it was more important to find out what would happen next rather than focus on the few faults in the pages and dwell on if it would detract from the overall story.
Thankfully, there are two more books in this series, so there's even more to discover in Amy's life as a servant in London. Personally, I'm hooked and can't wait to find out what's next!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews