Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict

Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict

Read by Alana Kerr Collins

9 hours, 1 minute

Published October 2018 by Source Landmark

Publisher's Summary: 

From the author of The Other Einstein, the mesmerizing tale of what kind of woman could have inspired an American dynasty.

Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the other woman with the same name has vanished, and pretending to be her just might get Clara some money to send back home.

If she can keep up the ruse, that is. Serving as a lady's maid in the household of Andrew Carnegie requires skills he doesn't have, answering to an icy mistress who rules her sons and her domain with an iron fist. What Clara does have is a resolve as strong as the steel Pittsburgh is becoming famous for, coupled with an uncanny understanding of business, and Andrew begins to rely on her. But Clara can't let her guard down, not even when Andrew becomes something more than an employer. Revealing her past might ruin her future -- and her family's.

With captivating insight and heart, Carnegie's Maid tells the story of one brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world's first true philanthropist.

My Thoughts: 

A couple of months ago I was texting with a friend I've known and loved since I was 19 years old. She happened to mention that she was reading the last book by Marie Benedict that her local library had available and that she loved Benedict's books. Two things: 1) after more than 40 years of knowing this woman, I had no idea she was a reader (how in the world has that NEVER come up?!); and 2) if she loves this author so much, I need to read something by her, preferably an audiobook since I was just finishing one up. So I grabbed up this one, eager to find out if I would feel the same way about Benedict and to see what the book could teach me about a man whose generosity funded hundreds of libraries across the country. 

As do most historical fictions books I read, this way had me heading to the internet to find out how much truth there was to this story. In point of fact, not much other than the fact that Andrew Carnegie was, himself, an immigrant that came to this country destitute only to become one of the richest men in the world. He was known to be ruthless in business, but more generous in his personal life; still, historians have long wondered what caused him to become such a philanthropist in later life. Benedict has taken her own family's history as immigrants and woven it into Carnegie's life to try to explain that change. It's an interesting idea. 

There's a lot to be said for the socioeconomic portrait Benedict paints of this time in U.S. history and the life of the poor in Pittsburgh at that time, tying in some Irish history as well and I enjoyed those parts of the book. Overall, though, I felt like Benedict was trying to pull too much into her story and things got a little dramatic at times. The fact that our Clara Kelley needed to have her backstory to give us that history that Benedict wanted to give, but would never have been able to work in the capacity in the Carnegie household that she held had she merely applied for the job made for much more drama. Benedict also pulls in a story about the former slave head cook's missing family is another example of pulling in more drama than was necessary to tell the story. But the drama ended as soon as Clara had to leave the Carnegie household and the ending of the book fell flat for me. 

Would it make my top ten list at the end of the year? No. But it was well read and offered enough to be a solid read. It could make a good book club choice, as well.