The Maid of Fairbourne Hall

by Julie Klassen

Pampered Margaret Macy flees London in disguise to escape pressure to marry a dishonorable man. With no money and nowhere else to go, she takes a position as a housemaid in the home of Nathaniel Upchurch, a suitor she once rejected in hopes of winning his dashing brother. Praying no one will recognize her, Margaret fumbles through the first real work of her life. If she can last until her next birthday, she will gain an inheritance from a spinster aunt--and sweet independence. But can she remain hidden as a servant even when prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall? Observing both brothers as an "invisible" servant, Margaret learns she may have misjudged Nathaniel. Is it too late to rekindle his admiration? And when one of the family is nearly killed, Margaret alone discovers who was responsible. Should she come forward, even at the risk of her reputation and perhaps her life? And can she avoid an obvious trap meant to force her from hiding? On her journey from wellborn lady to servant to uncertain future, Margaret must learn to look past appearances and find the true meaning of "serve one another in love."

• ISBN10: 1410445704
• ISBN13: 9781410445704
• Publish Date: 21 March 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 14 January 2014
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thorndike Press
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 681
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

I respect [a:Julie Klassen|928415|Julie Klassen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1351867046p2/928415.jpg]'s intent with this novel. I think it just felt typical and unsurprising. I mean there were pirates and sword fights which were entertaining flourishes. But mostly it was a standard girl's character improves through unexpected circumstances and romance ensues.

There was too much time spent in below stairs details. It felt a little like reading an episode of Downton Abbey. And while I get that she was trying to immerse you in the time period and going for historical accuracy, that didn't make it any more interesting to me.

I also found the ending rather abrupt. I wasn't surprised by how it all played out so I wasn't looking for the reveal, I was looking for the experience. I wanted to be able to enjoy them being together and a little bit of awkwardness over the whole thing would have been fun. Not 6 sentences explaining where everyone ended up.

But overall it wasn't a bad book. The character and the setting and the plot were all pleasant enough. It was a nice, light, easy read.

[cherryblossommj]

In the fall of 2008 I first discovered [a:Julie Klassen|928415|Julie Klassen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1438099690p2/928415.jpg] in her debut novel [b:Lady of Milkweed Manor|2043100|Lady of Milkweed Manor|Julie Klassen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322223127l/2043100._SY75_.jpg|2048032] and fell in love. Pretty much as a matter of fact many things I said about that novel still hold true again to this one.

Upon finishing this novel, I sigh in complete contentment. This is near one of the best novels I have ever had the opportunity to fall deep within the pages and stay for a while.

From beginning to end I had my opinions of how things should go, with the slight twists and turns I never had a clue how the plot would be. Sometimes I could not read fast enough, as a matter of fact most of the time. I would not believe certain things were happening.

This is a perfect novel in regency time and I can see a bit of Austen and Jane Erye. I can easily say that readers of such will enjoy this story. It is alike, but completely unique and what a tale it tells.

Then in the winter of 2009 I discovered more fabulous reading in her next novel, [b:The Apothecary's Daughter|3870943|The Apothecary's Daughter|Julie Klassen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1325356997l/3870943._SY75_.jpg|3916135], another piece of incredible historical fiction. This was the one where I discovered how much I truly enjoyed her introductions to each chapter with a quote or phrase. She continues that on into this novel as well with the quotes being straight out of resource that provide great insight into the working lives of the regency period.

After that in 2010/2011 I read and loved her next two novels, both [b:The Girl in the Gatehouse|8125737|The Girl in the Gatehouse|Julie Klassen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348631772l/8125737._SY75_.jpg|12921403] and [b:The Silent Governess|6624391|The Silent Governess|Julie Klassen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506900281l/6624391._SX50_.jpg|6818605] which is possibly my favorite. Each time I venture into a novel from Julie I find entertainment and a lesson. While I can relate these to various films and other novels I've enjoyed this one about the serving class brings to mind a new favorite for me from Downton Abbey.

If you like Jane Eyre, Austen, Downton Abbey and similar, you couldn't possibly not like this book. You'll love it just as much as I do. As in the words of other novels, imagine pirates from the glory of [a:M.L. Tyndall|15860733|M.L. Tyndall|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], [a:Kaye Dacus|1644459|Kaye Dacus|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1489457301p2/1644459.jpg] and [a:Kathleen Y'Barbo|153441|Kathleen Y'Barbo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1510439028p2/153441.jpg]. Add to that the essence of character personality from [a:Deeanne Gist|52609|Deeanne Gist|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1545057055p2/52609.jpg] and you might get a general idea of if this read is on you'd enjoy. I know I did.

*Thanks to Julie and Bethany House Publishers for providing a copy for review.*

Originally posted: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2012/01/04/the-maid-of-fairbourne-hall-by-julie-klassen-2/