The Downstairs Maid Paperback – July 1, 2014

The story is centered on the life of Emily Carter, a farm girl growing up and reaching young adulthood in a small village in England before and during World War I. She has close a relationship with her father whose values, morals and attitudes she inherits and a very difficult relationship with her cruel and irresponsible mother. Through Emily's eyes we see how it was to be a servant in a large household early in the 20th century as well as the challenges that face single women who must fend for themselves in the world at that time in history . The characters are well developed and multidimensional. Class systems are explored and shown how seriously the people of the times and of England are influenced and constrainedby them.There are lots of interesting twists and turns in the story and it is not a formulaic predictable novel. In my opinion. One of those books that kept me up half the night reading. It's also nice and long at over 440 pages and has good descriptive detail but not superfluous flowery language used as an annoying filler which I am seeing a lot of lately. I highly recommend this book. If you like the genre, I believe you find this charming,

Emma Carter is a "common farm girl" who wants to make something of herself. She suffers hardships, loss, and heartache, but remains positive and works hard. Admired by both men and women, she falls in love with the son of the local Baron, but class distinctions keep them apart. Social changes brought on by WWI ultimately bring them together, but tragedy strikes before the war's end. Emily's strong will and love remain and she ultimately finds happiness in an unexpected way. This was an enjoyable read and I finished in 2 days. So many bad things happen to Emily along the way that I found it a little tedious at times, and kept asking myself what could possibly happen next. All in all, I thought it was good, but not great.

I was hesitant to pick up this book, because it was touted to be like Downton Abbey. I adore Downton, but I didn't want to read a shallow copy. I'm glad I gave Clarke's novel a chance. While this novel is set in the same period and culture as Downton Abbey, and has a few reminiscent story-lines, it is also very much stands on its own as a story. Emily is much more than the "servant girl" at the manor house.The first quarter of the book hooked me. By the second half I found some of the interior explication repetitive and lacking it depth; I felt hit over the head with simplistic explanation of the characters' reasoning and motives. for me, this quality dulled the plot and characters, who wanted to vibrantly explode on the page. That said, I did enjoy the characters and the plots. Emily is a compelling and likable character that the reader can care about; I wanted things to turn out well for her. The plot was compelling and with emotional draw, if sometimes predictable and overstated. Good read, but not the best.

I loved this book, I loved Emily, I loved the story, I loved everything about it! I'm a huge fan of Downton Abbey and this book fed right into that fascination. I find it intriguing to read about the differences in life "upstairs" versus "downstairs". If you're a fan of historical fiction, Downton Abbey, or just enjoyable stories, I highly recommend this book. Make sure you have a good block of time to sit and read and also some tissues handy for toward the end of the book. I'm looking forward to reading more novels by this author.

Great writing Rosie Clarke i loved the plot and of course the final outcome was what i was hoping for. Makes me wonder if these authors have lived through hard times like the people they write about. The detail about the characters and the homes they lived and worked in was great. Well done

From the beginning to end, this wonderful book shows the resilience of a strong woman who has gone through one trial after another in life, while keeping her values high and doing what needs to be done honestly!! Fantastic book!! I was absolutely not able to put it down, but did not want it to end!! Thank you!!

I COULD RATE THIS EVEN HIGHER THAN A FIVE STAR IF I COULD. THE DESCRIPTIVE WRITING WAS EXCELLENT AS WAS THE STORY LINE. THE FORMAT OF GOING BETWEEN THE TWO CLASSES OF PEOPLE LIVES HELD MY INTEREST THROUGHOUT. CLARKE MADE THE CHARACTERS INTERESTING. THE BOOK MOVED RIGHT ALONG WITHOUT EVER GETTING BOGGED DOWN WITH BORING DETAILS AND HELPS THE READER UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ARISTOCRACY AND THEIR SERVANTS . I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO THOSE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE WORLD WAR ONE TIME FRAME.

Wonderful story of young girl born into an unfortunate family. She finds love but there are obstacles along the way, mainly the status differences in herself and the one she loves. I appreciated the descriptions given of the places, people, clothes, etc. I normally do not like romance books, but this was a very wonderful story that focused more on a determined young lady rather than a silly romantic folly.

Thank you Rosie for a very good story. I have to say that at the beginning I didn't know if I was going to read the whole book, but I persevered and enjoyed it in the end. Would love to know if Emily had any more children, so basically am asking is there going to be a sequel?.

This book was a beautiful read. I didn't want to put it down and even at the end I wanted more.....The story of Emily and her hardships were worrying, I could really empathise with her, but to feel the love through the words was heartfelt, her love for her family, friends, Christopher then finally Nicolas was wonderful. I won't spoil the ending but you will want to read on till you get there and it won't disappoint...

A thoroughly enjoyable easy read with twists and turns. Set during the years of the First World War it emphasizes the class divide that existed then and concentrates on the life of one young woman who triumphed over adversity. Recommended.

This book was so good, I couldn't put it down, wanted it to go on and on. Would like to know of more books about life 'downstairs'

Fabulous read. I could not put this book down and read it until dawn for two nights till it was finished. Emily was a wonderful heroine with whom I could comiserate. This book has great pace and the story does not falter for a minute and it has all the factors I like in a book, a strong heroine, war and class distinction.