∎ Descargar Lady Maid A Novel Margaret Forster Books

Lady Maid A Novel Margaret Forster Books

Download As PDF : Lady Maid A Novel Margaret Forster Books

Lady Maid A Novel Margaret Forster Books

I would actually give this book 4.5 starts. The only drawback I found was that it was a bit lengthy and felt it could have been shortened slightly by omitting some of the unnecessary detail near the end. That said, I was totally engrossed in the story, which is very well written and based on actual fact. I know this because on completion of the book I was integrated enough to do further research on Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and her lady's maid. Even if pretty is not your thing, this book is an excellent study on the class distinctions in the 1800s and the restrictions, codes of conduct, and economic implications on both sides of the aisle.


Tags : Amazon.com: Lady's Maid: A Novel (9780345497437): Margaret Forster: Books,Margaret Forster,Lady's Maid: A Novel,Ballantine Books,0345497430,Historical,Browning, Elizabeth Barrett,England,England;Fiction.,Wilson, Elizabeth,Women domestics,Women household employees,Women household employees;Fiction.,Women poets,Women poets;Fiction.,ENGLISH HISTORICAL FICTION,FICTION Biographical,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction-Coming of Age,Fiction-Historical,GENERAL,General Adult,Great BritainBritish Isles,Historical - General,Historical fiction,United States,literary fiction;historical fiction;historical novels;historical;historical novel;saga;historical fiction books;historic fiction;drama;genre fiction;literary historical fiction;historical books;historical fiction novels;historical fiction book;historical saga;historical sagas;historical drama;fiction;novels;history books;sagas;books about history;biography;biographies;alternate history;fiction books;literature;books fiction;realistic fiction books;books historical fiction;england;romance;war,historical fiction; historical novels; historical; historical novel; saga; historical fiction books; historic fiction; drama; genre fiction; literary historical fiction; historical books; historical book; historical fiction novels; historical fiction novel; historical fiction book; historical fiction saga; historical fiction sagas; historical saga; historical sagas; historical drama; fiction; novels; history books; sagas; books about history; historical dramas; novels about history; biography; biographies; literary fiction,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Historical - General,Fiction - Historical,English Historical Fiction,Fiction,Historical fiction

Lady Maid A Novel Margaret Forster Books Reviews

To witness this passage from Lily's perspective as a servant to such known literary celebrities and to imagine her personal growth and losses within the limited structures of her time was a great read. You felt all her emotions with her and was glad to know in real life she still had Pen.
Margaret Forster at her very best. I felt immediately immersed in the period and the characters, wonderfully descriptive and heart wrenching at times. Some reviewers seem ignorant of the period and the lack of rights that servants had and the master/mistress /servant relationship of the times. These details (which are historically correct) and empathically decribed make the book an even more compelling read. An emotive and thoroughly researched book..... I could not put it down. Fabulous.
I loved this book, as it gave real insight into the life of a maid at the time. And also a wonderful look at the life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I know some of it was fiction, but a lot of it closely follows other accounts of EBB's life. I will say it was frustrating sometimes to see how Wilson was taken advantage of, but understanding how she felt was a wonderful read.
I agree with many readers that this book had great promise but I found myself getting bored because it was so slow moving. I am sure there is accuracy in this story in regards to how servants were treated at the time but Wilson's continuous run of bad luck was obnoxious. She should have thrown herself over a cliff. I think she could have been more appreciative of her sister Ellen raising her child for her. She behaved more like Mrs. Browning in that regard! She created her own misery when she kept going back for more when she was no longer under their employ. I forced myself to finish because I figured there would be some kind of happy ending. Oh well.
Given the 5-star rating, you can assume that I really liked this book, which I did. From the time, Wilson leaves her family to become Elizabeth Barrett’s maid, the reader becomes enveloped in the story. It is not always a happy story Miss Barrett is frequently not well and requires a great deal of attention and care, which Wilson is more than happy to provide. After Miss Barrett becomes Mrs. Browning, Wilson continues as an important member of their family. Through several miscarriages and then the birth of the Brownings’ first child, Pen, Wilson assumes an even more important role. Pen becomes devoted to Wilson, and he becomes like her own.
It is only after Wilson becomes pregnant with her first child, fathered by the Brownings’ chef and manservant, that Wilson begins to feel some coolness in her mistress. After the birth, Wilson agrees to send her son to her sister, Ellen, in England so that she can devote all of her energies to Mrs. Browning and to Pen. To say more would be to dilute the story for the reader, but since the book is over 500 pages long, there is much more for the reader to discover.

A reader not interested in historical fiction or the romanticized lives of poets or authors, or one turned off by somewhat flowing prose would probably question my rating. If these are the types of books you are drawn to, then, by all means, you should read this book and enjoy!
Four stars or five stars? I couldn’t decide. I ended up given this book five stars because it’s stayed with me. Days after finishing, I keep thinking about Wilson—the protagonist. Plus, it’s given me a new perspective on life back in Victorian times—the 1840s or so until the turn of the century. For both those reasons, it merits five stars.

This was a book I looked forward to reading each night and had a hard time putting down. I found myself wrapped in the world of the mid-19th century—the same feeling I get when I read Jane Austen novels, although this book was published in 1991.

I know historical fiction has to take liberties with the facts and that’s okay with me to a point. A writer can learn only so much from letters and other archival materials, so she gets to fill in the blanks. But I like being led back in time by someone who cares about facts, like a biographer. Lady’s Maid was written by Margaret Forster who also wrote a biography of the British poet Elizabeth Barret Browning—the other leading actress in the book’s cast.

Lilly Wilson arrives in the Barrett household in the 1840s to be the lady’s maid for the oldest daughter, Elizabeth. Lilly is known to all simply as Wilson as is the way when you’re in service. She’s a serious, capable, caring lady’s maid who ends up also being a nurse maid, dog walker and more for her mistress Elizabeth aka Miss Barrett.

Miss Barrett is sickly, weak, and pale. For weeks on end she is confined to the sofa in her darkened bedroom, yet she writes poetry and her reputation grows. Wilson is devoted to her mistress, and Barrett in turn is dependent upon Wilson’s care. She seems to enjoy Wilson’s quiet company, and Wilson slowly comes out of her shell.

When Barrett decides to elope with fellow poet Robert Browning, she takes Wilson into her confidence and then takes her along with them to Italy. Now we watch as Wilson transforms from a shy, fearful, change-wary lady’s maid to a confident woman who comes to love her life in Florence and loves her mistress Browning.

However, she’s more than a lady’s maid now. She still nurses her mistress when she becomes ill, which is often, but she’s also nanny to the Browning’s son Pen—but at the same pay as when she started working for the poet.

Class and money run through this book because the relationship between Wilson and her mistress, despite any loving feelings between the two, is defined by class, and, therefore, money. Wilson’s employment and security depends upon the Brownings, but she often deludes herself into believing they have a special relationship, unlike the ones her fellow lady’s maids have with their employers.

Wilson mistakes the attention, appreciation, and tenderness of her mistress for something it’s not, something that’s not possible between their classes. Browning may love her maid but only in a way a maid can be loved. Wilson will always be a servant, always dependent upon others for her home and livelihood, her security in life. The Brownings can have a warm family life, but Wilson is not expected to have the same for herself. The Brownings can travel about Europe visiting friends and family, but Wilson can’t do the same.

The choices Wilson makes have implications for her livelihood. She’s not free to choose to live the way she wishes, and she’s not free to be a wife and mother, not if she wants to stay in service with the Brownings. She dreams of the life she wishes to live, but she is not in a position to make those decisions, her freewill is limited.

Because the book is from Wilson’s point of view, we only glimpse the Brownings’ world through Wilson’s eyes, and we don’t see much. I’d love to read a novel that takes on Elizabeth Barret Browning’s point of view. Even better, one that includes excerpts of her poetry and her husband’s, so I can see the relationship with her lady’s maid from her perspective.

Many reviewers have come away from this book disgusted and disappointed with the Brownings. But how else could they behave? Despite being poets, they are creatures of their time and class. They were raised to be entitled.

If you want to immerse yourself in the Victorian era and feel how class differences made all the difference, read this book.
I would actually give this book 4.5 starts. The only drawback I found was that it was a bit lengthy and felt it could have been shortened slightly by omitting some of the unnecessary detail near the end. That said, I was totally engrossed in the story, which is very well written and based on actual fact. I know this because on completion of the book I was integrated enough to do further research on Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and her lady's maid. Even if pretty is not your thing, this book is an excellent study on the class distinctions in the 1800s and the restrictions, codes of conduct, and economic implications on both sides of the aisle.