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Description edit
After the Russian revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
Anna Grazinsky is a countess from background but she is forced to take up another job like the rest of her family as they have become penniless during the Russian revolution. She ends up as a maid in the house of Westerholme aristocrats. When the earl , Rupert Westeholme returns from war, he... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Countess Anna Grazinsky: The heroine of the story, exiled from Russia, who seeks work as a maid in the Westerholme household.
- The Earl of Westerholme, Rupert Westerholme: Having unexpectedly inherited his title when his brother George was killed in the war, he returns to the Westerholme household having recovered from his own war wounds in hospital.
- Muriel Hardwicke: Desperate to cross the border from being Nouveau Riche to the Aristocracy, the dazzling Muriel became engaged to Rupert when she was nursing him in hospital.
- Lady Minna Byrne: Second wife of Lord Byrne, a sensible and restrained modern american, who brings freshness to the stuffy English Aristocracy.
- Tom Byrne: A friend to Rupert since childhood, and who in love with Susie Rabinovitch.
- Olive Byrne, 'the Honourable Ollie': A bright and bubbly little child who is adored and spoiled by almost everyone. Has overcome many physical ailments in her young life.
- Hannah Rabinovitch: Jewish friend of the Westerholme family. Mother to Susie.
- Mrs. Park: The cook of Mersham.
- Dr. Lightbody: Eugenics visionary. Creator of Muriel's belief system. Totally self-obsessed.
- James: Body builder. Footman at Mersham. Trained by Mr. Proom.
- Sergei: Anna's gorgeous cousin. A prince and chauffeur to the Nettlefords.
- Lady Lavinia Nettleford: The oldest of the five Nettleford sisters. Described as equine. Another bridesmaid.
- Mrs. Bassenthwaite: Co-Head of the staff at Mersham.
- Petya: Anna's good natured 13 year old brother.
- Baskerville: Rupert's dog who loves Anna. An English Mastiff and a bit of a snob.
- Mr. Sebastien: Rupert's very old uncle. A music and ballet lover. Likes to get fresh with the maids.
- Cynthia Smythe: One of Muriel's bridesmaids. A friend from school.
Quotes edit
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“You could weigh as much as a hippopotamus and shave your head and wear a wig and it wouldn't make any difference to me. I never -said- you were beautiful. I never -thought- it. I said that you were -you-.”
Tom Byrne -
“It is always a mistake to go back -- and to go back to a place where one has been wholly happy is foolishness indeed.”
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“Only her eyes betrayed her wonderment that love, when it came at last, should be so physical, so exhausting and so sad.”
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“I have no right to tell you, you belong to someone else. But I will tell you. Only I will tell you in my own language so that you will not understand. Or so that you will understand completely.”
Anna Grazinsky
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
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Shadows are cool and peaceful places for those whose minds are overstocked with treasure.
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‘When you’re sad, my Little Star, go out of doors. It’s always better underneath the open sky.’
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the price paid by those who force themselves against their deepest nature to excel in war.
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It was only when the light in her eyes was extinguished, at the mention of her father, that Rupert realized how brightly it had burned.
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The glittering chandeliers, the gold mirrors with their draped acanthus leaves, the plangent violins might be the stuff of romance, but this was no romance. It was a moment in a lifeboat before it sank beneath the waves; a walk across the sunlit courtyard towards the firing squad. This waltz was all they had.
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Slowly, Anna put up a hand to his muzzle and began to scratch that spot behind the ear where large dogs keep their souls.
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‘How dare you suppose that I don’t know who you are or what you are? That I don’t understand what I see? Do you take me for some kind of besotted schoolboy? It is unspeakable! You could weigh as much as a hippopotamus and shave your head and wear a wig and it wouldn’t make any difference to me. I never said you were beautiful. I never thought it. I said that you were you.’
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God did that sometimes, the dowager had observed. Pushed you to the limit and then gave you just one little bonus:
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Anna turned, jumped off the chair and curtsied all in a single movement.
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‘“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers
First Sentence edit
In the fabled, glittering world that was St. Petersburg before the First World War there lived, in an ice-blue palace overlooking the river Neva, a family on whom the gods seemed to have lavished their gifts with an almost comical abundance.
Table of Contents edit
Prologue
Chapters 1-16
Glossary edit
- Newfangled: Different from what one is used to; objectionably new.
- Hussar: Hungarian light horseman.
Series & Lists edit
Authors & Contributors edit
- Eva Ibbotson (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Macdonald Futura
Country: England
Publication Date: 1981
ISBN: 0354047140
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Macdonald Futura
Country: England
Publication Date: 1981
ISBN: 0354047140
Page Count: 256
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 823.914
Subjects edit
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