Customer Reviews

Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Does reliably fresh sound like an oxymoron? Not when the pen is in Julie Klassen's hand. She writes twists and secrets into The Maid of Fairbourne Hall to keep us glued to the page. This is stimulating historical fiction with just the right amount of romance.

Margaret has no recourse but to flee when she learns that her stepfather and would-be fiancé are plotting for her inheritance. Think of the culture shock when a London woman of station sneaks out of her home and takes a job as a housemaid. Imagine the emotional turmoil when she discovers she has been employed in the home of her former suitors! Breathe a sigh of relief with her when she is told that housemaids should be invisible to the family that they serve.

Early on in the story, the standard upstairs/downstairs stereotypes are challenged when Margaret's maid starts giving her orders so that Margaret can escape an unwanted marriage. Once employed at Fairbourne Hall, Margaret risks immediate dismissal because she doesn't have any idea how to make up a bed. Don't miss the brush scene. It is priceless. We never know if or when her masquerade will be discovered. All in all, this is great storytelling.

The characters are well fleshed out. Although Margaret fumbles a bit at her identity change, she is a resourceful and multi-faceted character. The balances of trust and suspicion between her and Helen Upchurch work particularly well. Klassen accurately portrays the upstairs/downstairs world so prevalent in the early 18th century Regency class system and inserts some class-busters for interest. In addition, the hierarchy and dynamics among the servants give the book great depth. This reader found the servant world more interesting than the romance.

Julie Klassen has secured a place as a noted author of the Regency period. Unwilling to sit on her laurels, she researches each new book thoroughly. Her many sources are used as epigraphs before each chapter.

Servanthood is a great teacher and appears in many guises throughout The Maid of Fairbourne Hall. Thumbs up for this rewarding read.

Bethany House graciously provided the review copy for my unbiased opinion.

Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont

I have read and own all Julie Klassen's books and she's one author whose books I buy without even reading the synopsis. She's that good. Her research into the era about which she's writing is always impeccable and very fascinating. I am a history buff, anyway, and I love reading how others lived in different times. She does not disappoint.
Margaret Macy, a few months shy of her inheritance, is being forced into marrying her horrible stepfather's nephew, all just to get her money. When she realizes to what extent they will go to in order to make her marry the nephew, Margaret takes off for parts unknown. She is forced by circumstances to hire on as a housemaid at the manor house of the man she once cruelly spurned when he wanted to marry her. She is nervous nearly all the time, fearing she will be found out and returned to her stepfather's house.
What follows is one tightly written novel and one full of surprises as all sorts of underhanded dealings are done.
Don't hesitate to buy this book. It is worth your money. My only disappointment now is that I have to wait at least another year to read another of Klassen's books.

In Maid of Fairbourne Hall, Julie Klassen sweeps us away to 19th century London, in a delightful tale reminiscent of the timeless classics of the beloved Jane Austen. It is a tale of the very wealthy, and their loyal servants, beautiful gowns and masquerade balls, deceit and unrequited love. Our heroine, self-centered Margaret Macy, who stands to inherit a fortune on her next birthday, is forced to leave her home by her money hungry stepfather and his conniving nephew. Not knowing exactly where she is going, Margaret finds herself hired as a servant at Fairbourne Hall, owned by none other than two of her past suitors...Nathaniel Upchurch and his brother, Lewis!

Desperate not to be discovered, the beautiful, blonde Margaret, dons a brunette wig from one of her masquerade balls, and becomes a servant in every sense of the word...even lowering herself to emptying the disgusting chamber pots. Infatuated at one time with Lewis Upchurch, Margaret turned down his brother, Nathaniel's marriage proposal...much to her chagrine, for Nathaniel has turned into one swoonworthy male, and she finds Lewis to be very shallow and selfish.

Will Margaret be able to keep up the charade without being discovered, and what valuable lessons does she learn as a housemaid...of sacrifice, forgiveness, and loving those who are beneath her station in life? And who has a vendetta against the Upchurch family and why?...and seriously wounds one of the Upchurch brothers? Will he live?---especially with a traitor in the mansion determined to make that an impossibility? Will Nathaniel forgive Margaret's rejection of him years earlier, should he discover her identity, and will she ever be able return home to her mother and siblings again?

I love Julie Klassen's books, but in my opinion this is the best novel she has ever written! Interlaced with humor, suspense, and romance, this novel will have you laughing one moment and eyes brimming with tears the next. I loved her characters (though somewhat fanciful at times), and how our heroine evolves from being a selfish lady to a real LADY in every sense of the word! Julie's use of imagery is extraordinary, her storyline fascinating, her writing exquisite; what more can I say than you must read this book?!!

Not exactly a romance. Historical Fiction akin to a spy suspense story but on a domestic manor house front. It is even liken-able to a spin off of the TV series "Upstairs, Downstairs" or "Berkeley Square." Yet Julie Klassen has her own personal style of writing which is so picturesque, you feel like the linseed oil mixed with the oil paints as she brushes in the color on the pages of her canvas. All senses are on alert in a Klassen book. For example, you whiff the aroma when The Maid of Fairbourne Hall dumps a chamber pot that has a clinging residue. See?...It's not all romance.

How ironic is Margaret's life, dumping the chamber pot of a man she could have married. She refused the gentleman 2 years earlier, when she was a lady. Of course, Klassen knows she might well be run through with a foil should she not have this heroine find true love by the end of the final chapter. It is, of course, regal Regency romance. Spot on, and steaming up like a pot o' English tea. But it's the journey through 34 historical chapters that makes this as sweetly tasty as hot cross sticky buns. But you never really have time to feel any preliminary predictable love-found conclusion. You constantly wonder if the diminishing family fortune plays a role in love unrequited.

Pirates, street thugs, a ship fire, family fisticuffs, and more add action for men who wish to avoid the un-manly "chick-lit" echelon. Klassen offers bonny British fiction to both genders, a look at the lower servant class as well as their uppers. A bit on the continuation of slavery even after England outlawed it. Christian, without preachy, characters.
Men can learn that an overindulgence of herring in garlic sauce may cause adventurous dreams of rapier play on ship deck converging into a raucous kiss with a lovely blonde. Unfortunately, gentlemen (& ladies), no recipe. "Botheration."
Reading groups are provided Discussion Question.

Also highly recommended is this author's earlier 1915 Hist/Fic idyll of Silent Governess, The. Thanks Julie Klassen for another fine novel, and please be about writing another.

Julie Klassen really escalated the opening scene. It moved too fast for me at the beginning. Then the author engaged me well into the morning hours with heroine's tangled life.
The author did extensive research and used it in her novel. The dialogs didn't mimic the speech of the time, but it didn't distract me away from the story.
The heroine was not likable at the beginning, but then I cared for her like a dear friend.
The writer woven some mystery elements in and intriguing scenes that kept me captivated. You will lose some sleep if you pick up this novel.

I loved Klassen's first books but not the last two. I feel the author, though an excellent writer, adds a lot of meandering plot lines that tire a reader, especially in The Silent Governess. I was truly impressed with the first half of Maid of Fairbourne Hall. Klassen did a great job with research and bringing to life how it would have been to be a maid "below stairs". The amount of work to keep the house running was astounding and some of the jobs were quite humorous. Hard to imagine emptying chamber pots!

I also enjoyed all the secondary characters - the many different maids, who were quite active in the story until the reader hits a little past that mid-way mark, then they silently vanish. No more mention. (Not even to tell us their reaction when finding out the truth about Nora ... disappointing!) A possible romance, a maid with an edge slowly softening, and several other story lines just dropped. Suddenly, almost as if reading two different books, gone is the slight humorous angle and growing attraction between two main characters, and we're thrust into a "who dun it" mystery. Someone's been shot and all concentration goes to figuring out the menacing man holding a grudge. It seriously seemed out of place and added little to the story.

When the mystery is solved, us readers are picked up and dropped off back in the love story, where Klassen throws in a few more turns until by the time the main characters finally get together, it's anticlimatic. (or maybe it's just because my eyes were burning from a lack of sleep! Come on, Klassen, it's past one! Can't you speed things up a bit?) *** There was one romantic scene I have to mention. A main character is having a bad dream early in the morning. The maid soothes him. While still asleep, he kisses her fiercely. The maid is swept away by the romance of it all. I could only think - ugh, morning breath. Especially when said main character mentions later he'd had a garlic sauce the night before which might have disturbed his sleep!***

I will say yes, this book is good. It's better than her last two, though like Silent Governess, it roams all over the place before finally dropping you off with a perfectly tied up romantic ending.

I have read all of Julie Klassen's other books and looked forward to this one. I was not disappointed!

It wasn't as heart-wrenching as several of her earlier books, given the foregone conclusion I was able to draw fairly early in the book as to whom Margaret would ultimately marry. Given her privileged upbringing, it read more like a traditional Regency romance but with faith-based elements and kindnesses that were based on prayer, healing and changed lives.

I related fully to Margaret and really cared that she was able to make the right decisions to extract herself from dangerous situations throughout the book. Stayed up most of last night to finish the book. It was well worth the time. Well done, Julie!!

Julie Klassen's books may contain some danger and intrigue--they're not all fluff and frivolity--but they are books that you can just sit back and enjoy, for the sheer pleasure and fun of a good story.

Margaret Macy is a typical young lady of the Regency era--rich, beautiful and spoiled. But she's not without decorum, and when her stepfather tries to force his boorish nephew on her in marriage--even to the point of suggesting the nephew compromise Margaret in order to insure the marriage--Margaret decides to make like Joseph fleeing Potiphar's wife.

And of course, the stepfather is only after the fortune she'll inherit when she turns 25 in just a few months.

She has no one to turn to and only a few coins to her name. So what does she do? She joins her own maid in leaving London and seeking a position elsewhere.

As a housemaid.

A good deal of enjoyment of this book is watching the tables turn on this pampered girl. Disguised with a wig and spectacles, Margaret--now "Nora"--now literally finds out how the other half lives. And that includes scrubbing floors and emptying chamber pots.

But Margaret is always likable, and we grow to respect her for adapting to her new lifestyle and gaining respect for the kind of people who have served her all her life.

And of course, there's a complication or two when Margaret finds out just whose house it is that she's working in.

Julie Klassen has obviously done her research when it comes to the part that servants played in that era--basically, that a wealthy home couldn't exist without them. They often lived under severe rules and regimens, rarely getting any time off and working for very little pay.

I enjoyed the story's romance, and appreciated the element of faith that is an undercurrent of the main character's lives.

If you need an escape from the winter doldrums, you can probably find it in this light but refreshing historical romance.

What a great read!!! SO clean and innocent and sweet. I loved that it was a safe read as well. I do wish a little more had been added to the ending but I have to give five stars for any book that I can't put down and this one was the best I've read in a long long time!

I knew she was good after reading The Apothocary's Daughter, but The Maid of Fairbourne Hall really blew me away. Open this book and Klassen will transports you back to the early 1800s, in England, when upper-class Margaret Macy suddenly finds her life altered to that of a lowly housemaid.

The first character that struck me the strongest and grabbed my attention was wild-mannered and dashingly good looking Nathaniel Upchurch. At his first appearance after years in Barabdos, I was glued to the pages and instantly intrigued about this man. Margaret took a little longer for me to warm up to, but through no fault of the author! She was just a bit too uppity. Once she was brought low and humbled as a housemaid--and learned so many lessons about the people who work so hard behind the scenes--she grew on me.

For being a rather thick book, I flew through the pages, easily. And found it very hard to put it down at the end of each chapter. Klassen excels at keeping the reader riveted to the pages, both with her awesome, intricate storyplot and her deep, endearing characters.

The things that Margaret had to go through as a housemaid certainly made for some amusing moments. Especially her first time at emptying a chamber pot! Haha, I was laughing out loud--how gross! As to questionable content, there really wasn't any worth mentioning. A few of the male characters have less than honorable designs toward women, especially the servant girls, but details are never given.

If you love the Jane Austen classics, then you have to try one of Julie Klassen's novels and discover that Austen's brilliance with regency romances lives on! I was swept away in this lovely tale where the reader gets a behind the scenes look at what life was like for the servants in a 19th century English manor. You won't be disappointed!

I reviewed this book for the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. Thanks to the publishers, Bethany House, for sending me my review copy. It was not required that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and opinions of this book, which I have done.